An unlikely partnership
by AikaRikaru
Summary: With most of the Akatsuki members on break, Itachi and Hidan have to team up for a retrieval mission. The raven-haired man has been hiding feelings for Hidan for a long time, and he's anxious to see how their mission will go. Points of view change between Itachi and Hidan throughout the story. BoyxBoy. Rated M for language.
1. Chapter 1

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

The Akatsuki's main base was unusually filled. Everyone except Pein, Konan, and Zetsu were held up in the large cave. Apparently Deidara and Sasori had been given a couple of weeks off from missions, so they were focusing on their artwork. And no doubt arguing about it...

Kisame and I happened to return from a mission about the same time as Hidan and Kakuzu. Once we had finished giving Pein our report, he informed us that Kisame and Kakuzu were to have extended time off from missions. The two of them were exhausted beyond measure, and I couldn't blame them. Most of the missions Kisame and I had been going on as of late were mostly combat situations. So Kisame tended to take the lead on those sorts of assignments.

And I suppose Kakuzu was just fed up with Hidan. Ah Hidan,the obnoxious man who was just a year older than I. He had somehow managed to catch my attention and my heart. I'd somehow fallen for him. I wasn't sure how it happened, but his face plagued my thoughts constantly. I was actually quite happy to know that Hidan and I were the only two who didn't have time off. That meant there was a chance we might actually get sent on a mission together. I collapsed onto my bed and let out a heavy sigh. _"What I would give to spend even a little time alone with him..."_

My eyes were becoming heavy and I was just about to give in to sleep when there was a knock on the door. I groaned and reopened my eyes. "Yes?"

"Yo, Uchiha, it's Hidan. We gotta mission from Pein, says it's real important. We're to set out for the land of iron to collect some important documents."

My heart jumped in excitement. I was actually getting a chance to be alone with Hidan. I got off of my bed and walked over to the door and opened it. "All right. Is there a set time we need to retrieve the documents, or is this a mission that we can set our own pace on?"

Hidan brought a hand up to play with his hair. "Nah man, Pein said to take our time since everyone else is here at the base. So we can head on out as soon as you're ready." He cocked his head to the side and smirked. "I do have one request though; try not to treat me like I'm a worthless piece of shit like Kakuzu does."

I had to suppress a smile at his words. "You need not worry about that. Give me a moment to gather up a few things and we can set out." I turned around and walked over to my small dresser to collect various weapons and supplies. I packed everything inside of the pouches that were adorning my waist. I could feel Hidan's eyes on me the whole time, and I can't say I _disliked_ the feeling. "Hidan, I am curious," I turned around to face him. "did you think staring at me the whole time would make me pack faster?"

Hidan was smirking at me and let out a menacing laugh. "Nah, just felt like staring." He stepped back into the hallway. "Okay, Uchiha, I guess this means we can head on out now. I'm also just gonna assume that you're gonna take the lead and I'm to only speak when spoken to, follow orders, that sort of thing?"

I tilted my head and looked at him in confusion. "Is working with Kakuzu really that bad? Or is my reputation that bad? I thought we'd just take our time and work together. It's a simple retrieval mission, there shouldn't be any need for us to boss each other around."

Hidan's eyes lit up. "Hell yeah working with Kakuzu is that bad!" He smiled happily after saying that. "Itachi my friend, I think I see a beautiful partnership in the works." He grabbed a hold of my wrist and started dragging me down the stairs.

My heart stopped in my chest. "I can walk on my own you know..." Ah, keeping up appearances around Hidan is going to be hard work. _"It's taking all of my effort not to slip my hand into his..."_ I sighed at how pathetic I was being. I, Itachi Uchiha, who slaughtered his own clan, was in love. How absolutely pathetic.

Hidan simply shrugged it off and turned back to wink at me. "Maybe I just wanted to hold your wrist." He continued to drag me along until we exited the base, and then he laughed. "Oh relax Uchiha, it was just a simple joke, don't take everything so seriously."

I stared at the complicated man in front of me and huffed. "Let's just head for the land of iron now..." I ducked my head to hide my oncoming blush, and quickly shuffled ahead of him. _"This, is not going to be easy."_ I was very fortunate that I got my breathing under control by the time Hidan caught up to me.

The two of us walked side by side from there on out. Hidan was talking about anything and everything, and seemed very happy that he wasn't being ignored or interrupted. I couldn't help but laugh at a few of his stupid jokes. He was so energetic and happy over everything.

Hidan looked over at me and grinned. "Damn, you totally just laughed at my joke."

I tilted my head at him as we stopped walking. "Why, does that surprise you?"

Hidan chuckled. "Well, y'know, Kakuzu is kind of stiff with no sense of humor whatsoever. Damn jerk never laughs at my jokes, never listens when I talk, and usually scolds me for talking too much." He grinned at me again. "I dunno man, you just kind of listen attentively, and let me get it all out of my system."

I frowned. _"Does Kakuzu really treat him that badly?" _I stared at Hidan for a moment, trying to figure out how anyone could possibly mistreat him. Especially with that messy silver hair, that menacing smile, and those alluring purple eyes. I let out a longing sigh. _"Oh how I love those eyes..." _

Hidan gulped and scratched the side of his face. "Uhm, hey man, why're ya starin' at me like I'm somethin' to eat?"

That immediately snapped me out of my thoughts and I could feel my face heat up. I bit my bottom lip and shook my head. "Hn..." I once again made haste to get in front of Hidan as a way to hide my embarrassment. _"I'm so foolish. What was I thinking staring at him like that?" _

"Yo, Itachi! Wait up!" Hidan caught up in a matter of seconds and stopped right in front of me. "Hey, your face is all red. You got a fever or something?" He didn't give me time to respond before opening his mouth again. "That's cool man, you're willing to risk your health for the sake of the mission. But it'd probably be a good idea if we found a village by nightfall."

I gave a simple nod in reply. "That's still a few hours away, so let's keep walking."

The two of us resumed walking side by side along the pathway. After another hour or so, I was beginning to think I did have a fever. Something felt off to me...I was beginning to feel light-headed, and before I knew it, the ground was spinning. _"Wait, the ground...?"_ I must have gotten too dizzy to realize that I was falling.

Before I had the misfortune of collapsing on the ground, I was caught in a very warm pair of arms and pressed against a very firm torso. I strained my eyes to see who it was, Hidan. _"Of course it's Hidan, who else would it be...?" _I groaned softly and my eyes were becoming too heavy to keep open.

Hidan held me securely against his chest. "Hey..." His voice was quieter than usual, and held a sort of gentleness to it. "You okay?"

I groaned again and shook my head. My eyes were too heavy, so I finally gave in and closed them. I relaxed against Hidan's chest and started to fall asleep. "Hn...tired..."

"Hey wait a Jashin damned second; you can't fall asleep on me now. We can't be more than two hours away from the nearest village." He shook my body gently. "Come on now man..."

I coughed as a bout of nausea rushed through me. I turned in his arms and pressed all of my weight against him. _"This may be the first time I'm actually __**happy **__I'm having an attack from the illness..."_ I nuzzled my face into his chest and became very comfortable. _"He's so unbelievably warm."_

Hidan let out a heavy sigh. "Fine, fine." He let go of me with one arm, which I assumed was so he could put his scythe down. He scooped me up in his arms and slung me over his back. "Damn Itachi, I think you're lighter than the scythe." He no doubt picked the scythe back up with the intention of carrying it by hand the rest of the way. "I'm just gonna assume you got some sort of health thing goin' on, and carry you. Get some sleep and don't even _think_ about protesting, you got me?"

I tightened my grip on Hidan and nodded against his shoulders. "Hn...sleep, no protesting..." I yawned softly and nuzzled into him. "...Understood."I heard Hidan sigh as he resumed walking down the path. I could feel myself drifting in and out of consciousness for several minutes before finally giving in to sleep.

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

After another ten minutes of walking I could tell that Itachi had fallen asleep. His arms were wrapped snugly around my neck and his face was pressed tightly into my shoulder. I found it oddly comforting to listen to the sound of Itachi breathing. _"Damn, maybe I should have talked to Kisame before telling Itachi we had a mission. Although, it is kind of adorable that the great and almighty Itachi Uchiha is currently sleeping on my back..." _I smirked to myself when the thought crossed my mind.

Night had finally fallen by the time we reached a small village. Not bothering to conceal my weapon, I made my way to the nearest Inn. It looked like the only Inn the village had, but it was pretty damn nice. I approached the counter and smiled at the nervous looking woman. "Hey there, you gotta room for two by chance?"

The woman tried her best to smile back at me, but failed miserably. "I-I uh...yes. It's the last room we have available. How long will you be staying?"

I thought about that for a minute, and how it might be better for the both of us if Itachi had a few days to rest. "Let's make it two days." I placed a generous amount of money on the counter in hopes it was enough, and not _too_ much. _"I really hope I don't get scammed out of this payment, Kakuzu will kill me." _I chuckled to myself at the thought.

The woman seemed rather scared by my sudden laugh, but she handed me the room key nonetheless. "Uhm, go up the stairs there and your room will be the last one on the left...please enjoy your stay."

"Thank you!" I hauled Itachi and my scythe up the stairs and made my way to the end of the hall. There was an oval shaped mirror hanging on the wall in between the last two rooms, and I got a glimpse of how peaceful Itachi looked. I turned my attention to the door on the left and unlocked it. Upon entering the room and turning the light on, I noticed that it was a decent size; balcony straight ahead, small bathroom to the right, small lounging area on the same side as the bathroom, and the double bed was on the left. Wait, what?

I stared at the bed in disbelief. _"Well fuck." _I set my scythe against the bathroom wall, and walked over to the bed. I carefully took Itachi off of my back and placed him on the bed. I removed all of his ninja gear so that he was left in just his shirt and pants. I placed them in a not-so-neat pile on the left bedside table. I took everything of mine off save for my pants and necklace. My stuff I just dumped on the floor in the corner of the room.

I ran a hand through my hair and sighed in frustration. _"When I told the stupid cunt I wanted a room for two, I meant two __**separate**__ beds. Not one big bed for two people..." _I was just about to tuck Itachi into the left side of the bed, when he started to shift.

His eyes slowly started to blink a few times before they were open completely. He groaned softly and scanned the part of the room he could see. After a moment, his eyes locked on to mine. "Hidan? Where are we?"

I put my hands up in surrender. "Look man, we're at the only Inn this village seems to have, and I told the dumb bitch downstairs I wanted a room for two, and she said this was the last room. But I swear to you I didn't know it only had one bed. I'll sleep on the floor or the couch or something and just—"

Itachi stopped my sentence short by waving a hand at me in dismissal. "It's fine Hidan, sharing a bed for one night isn't going to kill us."

I scratched the side of my face. "Uh yeah, about that...I kind of thought you'd be better off resting for a few days, so we wouldn't be slowed down, so I booked the room for two days."

Itachi's eyes seemed to light up after hearing that. "Either way it's not going to kill us." He started to say something else but seemed hesitant. He continued to keep his eyes locked on mine for several minutes. "Is it all right if I go back to sleep?"

"Huh? Course it's all right. That's the whole point of the room." I yawned and scratched the back of my neck. "Think I'm gonna get some sleep too. After all, I was lugging something heavy while walking for two hours straight."

Itachi had this look of guilt on his face and frowned. "Hidan, I'm sorry, you could have woken me up."

I laughed heartily at his comment. "Oh you don't have to apologize Uchiha, I was talking about my scythe. That thing is so damn heavy. You weren't heavy at all, it was kind of nice listening to you sleep." I winked at him before turning off the lights and crawling into the bed beside him. I laid down on the right side flat on my back. I let out another yawn before mumbling, "Night Uchiha."

* * *

I had been having a very peaceful dream about sacrificing the lives of innocent people to Lord Jashin, when I was _rudely_ awakened by the sound of coughing. I groaned and sat up. "Who the fu—" I didn't finish my remark when I realized it must have been Itachi I heard coughing. He wasn't in the bed anymore, and the bathroom light was on. I listened to the sound of him coughing for several minutes before hearing the toilet flush. After a few more minutes I heard the sound of running water, followed by a small, pitiful cough. Once it got quiet, I laid back down and waited for him to come out.

It took another minute or two, but Itachi slowly made his way out of the bathroom. He crawled back into the bed, got under the blankets, and snuggled up against me. His entire body was trembling, and I couldn't suppress a yelp when his ice cold face came into contact with my chest. His teeth were chattering, and rather loudly at that.

I frowned and instinctively used my left hand to rub up and down his arm. "Hey man, you're ice cold. What the hell is wrong with you?"

Itachi pressed as closely to me as he could without having to climb on top of me. "...I got sick and most of what I threw up was blood..." He continued to tremble and press into me in a desperate attempt to get warm.

I sighed and wrapped both my arms around him. "Well come here then." I tucked the blanket tightly around the two of us and held him firmly against my bare chest. I rubbed my hands up and down his back and shoulders in an attempt to warm him up. "Damn Itachi."

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

The heat was finally returning to my body and I no longer feared freezing to death. A part of me was thankful that I'd had an episode; it gave me a valid excuse to cuddle up to Hidan. He was still so very warm compared to me, and I didn't want to move.

Hidan apparently had other plans, for he started to pull away.

I panicked. _"No, not yet...I need more time with him."_ I tightened my grip on Hidan's body and pressed my face into the crook of his neck. I all but climbed on top of him in the process. "H-Hidan, I'm not warm enough yet..."

Hidan sat up and looked down at me. "What do you mean you're not warm enough yet? You feel plenty warm to me and you stopped trembling." He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face.

I frowned and shook my head. "Hidan, please..."

His expression changed to that of mild shock. He had this look in his eyes that said he _knew. _He nodded and laid back down, gently pulling me against his chest. He ran his hand up my back and gently cradled my head. His fingers began to gently massage my scalp, and he let out a soft yawn before nuzzling his face into my hair. "How long?"

I felt my heart skip a beat at his question. I took a deep breath and sighed. "Too long..." I nestled my head comfortably onto his chest and closed my eyes. "Far too long..."

He wrapped his arms around my waist and gave me a gentle squeeze. "Then for the rest of these two days we have this hotel room for, you can crawl into my arms at anytime your sickly heart desires."

His voice was soft and teasing as he spoke.

I managed a weak laugh and sighed contently against his chest. "What about when we're back at the base?"

Hidan went quite for a minute and then pressed a gentle kiss on my forehead. "As long as you're comfortable with the rest of the guys knowing how you feel about me, then you will always have a place in my arms, and a place on my chest."

I instantly felt a warmth that I hadn't felt in years. I climbed up on top of him and nestled into the crook of his neck. "Thank you Hidan." I smiled against his skin when I felt him wrap the blanket tightly around the two of us. "May I go back to sleep now?"

Hidan let out a raspy chuckle. "It's about time you selfish dick. You did wake me up after all." His voice was filled with playful mischief and he placed a big, wet kiss on the top of my head. "Sleep now little weasel. I'll be here when you wake up."

I brought my hands up to rest them on his chest and I sighed contently. I let out a soft yawn and nuzzled into him before closing my eyes. "Good night Hidan..." I fell asleep in Hidan's soft embrace, listening to the gentle sound of his soothing heartbeat. And I knew one thing was certain; this was going to be the most peaceful night's sleep I'd ever had.

* * *

A/N: I decided to switch it up a bit, and write a story in multiple points of views. I ended this on a simple note, in case I don't write anymore chapters.

If it gets enough interest I'd be happy to write more.

Also, it was odd for me to write Hidan's lines, since the only cuss word I ever use is _hell_.

Story © Kaylin Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	2. Chapter 2

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

Warm. I felt so very warm. I was curled up in a ball with the blanket wrapped tightly around me. The only thing outside of the blanket was my head. I nuzzled softly into the pillow beneath me and sighed contently. I heard a raspy chuckle from behind me. I groaned and nuzzled into the pillow again, I did _not_ want to remove myself from this wondrous warmth.

"Hahaha, yo Uchiha, you're pretty cute when you don't wanna get outta bed."

I groaned again and pulled the blanket over my head. "Hidan, I never get to sleep in, so be quiet and let me do so in peace..."

Hidan scoffed and then chuckled again. "Dude, it's four in the afternoon. I'd say you have definitely slept in, my friend."

I jumped up and turned over to look at him. "W-What?"

His eyes lit up with mischief and he burst into laughter. "Nah man, I'm just screwin' with ya. It's only ten."

I stared at him in disbelief and allowed myself to pout. I picked up the pillow that was next to me and threw it at him. He must not have expected it, for it landed a direct blow to his face. "...That was uncalled for, don't you think?"

Hidan blinked and then smiled apologetically. "Ah sorry, sorry... I couldn't help myself." He made his way to the bed and crawled over to me. Hidan ran a hand through my loose hair and smiled softly. "Go back to sleep."

It was my turn to blink. _"He...is so gentle with me..."_ I slunk down in shyness, but I didn't make him remove his hand. "...Would you...stay with me?"

Hidan's expression softened and he nodded. "Sure thing, but first..." He brushed a thumb over my bottom lip. "There's something I want to try." He leaned in and gently pecked my lips.

I froze. My head started spinning, my eyes went wide with shock, and my heart stopped beating. I was so overrun with emotion that I didn't know how to respond, or rather; I was unable to respond. _"Hidan is...kissing me..."_ That was the only thought that was running through my mind, because it was just so unbelievable.

Hidan was apparently unfazed by the lack of response on my part, and continued to kiss me. He brought both of his hands up to cup my face, and tilted his head to get better access to my mouth.

I was slowly starting to melt away. I closed my eyes and began to kiss him back experimentally. After a moment or so, I started to become more comfortable with kissing and soon found myself pinned to the bed. I let out a desperate, needy groan when Hidan pulled away from me.

He looked down at me with a smug expression on his face. The lust was evident in his eyes as he continued to stare at me. After a few minutes, he suddenly leaned down and sunk his teeth into my neck.

I yelped in surprise as the sudden mixture of pain and pleasure ran through me. "H-Hidan!" My eyes slowly closed and I brought my hands up to his head. I bit my bottom lip to muffle my whimpers; as they were starting to make me sound pathetic.

He pulled his teeth out after another minute and quickly lapped up the remaining blood. He looked down at me with a satisfied expression before licking his lips slowly. "Hmm, you taste good."

My eyes went wide and I activated my Sharingan in fear. "Don't you even _think_ about using me for one of your rituals."

Hidan blinked. "Huh?" It took him a moment to get it, and then he put both of his hands up in surrender. "Whoa, no, no, no. Don't get the wrong idea, Itachi. I don't always use blood for rituals, sometimes I just enjoy the taste of it. You have my word that I will never use you for a ritual. Hell, I'll pinky promise you, if that's what it takes."

I slowly deactivated my Sharingan and let his words sink in. And then I found myself laughing at the childish remark at the end. "Okay." I sat up and tilted my head as I looked at him expectantly. "Hold me?"

His expression softened and he gave me a meaningful smile. "Yeah, come here." He opened his arms and pulled me into his chest. He placed his chin atop my head and inhaled slowly. "Get some more sleep, 'kay?"

My eyes became heavy and I nodded against his chest. "Okay." I was extremely content against his warm body, wrapped in his equally warm embrace. He propped himself up against the pillow and carefully took me with him. I nuzzled into the crook of his neck and yawned softly. Just as my body began to give in to sleep once more, I felt another attack coming on.

I shot my eyes open and immediately coughed up blood all over Hidan. I clutched at my heart in a desperate attempt to make the pain go away. I coughed up more and more blood; successfully staining Hidan's chest and face red. I started wheezing helplessly as I tried to catch my breath. I was suddenly aware of the fact that I could no longer breathe. I started to clutch at my throat frantically; blood was stuck and preventing air from reaching my lungs.

I felt Hidan quickly slam a fist into my stomach; causing me to cough up the blood that was lodged in my throat. I gasped desperately as the air returned to my lungs all at once.

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I watched in silent terror as Itachi regained his ability to breathe. I could feel his blood on my face, neck, and chest, but it didn't matter. The Uchiha was suffering and there was nothing I could do about it. "Damn Itachi, the fuck is wrong with you?"

He opened his tired eyes and stared at me. "...Water, Hidan... I need water."

I let out a frustrated sigh when he didn't answer my question, but moved to get him water nonetheless. I took out a reusable water bottle from one of my pouches and filled it with water from the bathroom sink. After cleaning the blood from myself, I made my way back to the bed and slowly handed him the bottle. "Here."

His trembling hands took a hold of the bottle and he slowly brought it up to his lips. It appeared to take every ounce of energy Itachi had left to even _taste_ the water. He had only managed to drink about half of the bottle when he handed it back to me. His eyes looked heavy and I knew he was struggling to keep them open. His lips were trembling and he looked like he was on the verge of tears.

I sighed and set the bottle down on the bedside table. "Hey, come here." I opened my arms as I spoke. Once he moved towards me, I wrapped my arms around his body in a tight, but gentle embrace. I placed his face in the crook of my neck before gently resting my chin on the top of his head. I ran the fingers of my right hand through his long black locks; hoping it would bring him some form of comfort.

He immediately went limp in my arms and was completely dependent on my embrace to hold his body upright. He was silent for quite some time, the only noise coming from him was his uneven breathing. His body began to heave against mine, and his breath hitched in his throat.

I blinked and let out a stunned sigh. "Hey..." It was obvious to me now that he must have been crying for quite some time. I tightened my grip on the small man in my arms and sighed. "Are you in a lot of pain?"

He inhaled sharply before letting out a shaky breath. He brought his hands up and clutched at his heart again. "Nngh..." His body started to tremble, and I took that as a 'yes'.

I frowned. _"What the hell is wrong with Itachi? He always seems perfectly healthy, and in excellent condition. You can't tell me he only shows this side to Kisame?" _Thousands of thoughts ran through my head as I continued to stroke his hair. _"And if Itachi's been suffering from some sort of disease, then how long has he been dependent on Kisame? What happens if he has an attack on a solo mission?" _

My thoughts were interrupted the moment I felt Itachi sit up. He was looking at me with the biggest, saddest, black eyes I'd ever seen. "Forgive me, Hidan... You shouldn't have to take care of me like some bed-ridden child. I will be all right after I rest some more. You should go enjoy yourself in town."

I frowned at him. "I'm usually the first one to enjoy seeing a person in complete agony, but... with you, I hate it. It makes me feel sick inside. Especially when I think about how long you might have been suffering from whatever it is that you have. And how you hide it from everyone except Kisame, which can only mean you trust him dearly. I want to be like that. I want you to open up to me like you do with Kisame. And I know that's a hell of a lot to ask for, so I don't expect you to actu—''

Itachi suddenly interrupted my ramblings by crashing our lips together. The kiss was rather, well, _wet. _His face was drenched in tears, but he continued to kiss me. He shifted until he was sitting in my lap and deepened the kiss.

I was unsure at first, considering the man had just finished coughing up blood, but _damn. _The taste of it remained on his lips, and it tasted better than anything I'd ever had before. Sure I've had my fair share of blood over the years, but there was just something about _**his **_that drove me insane. My sadistic instincts started to kick in after tasting his blood. I quickly shoved Itachi onto his back and forced my way into his mouth.

He groaned and whimpered into my mouth and roughly grabbed my back. He began to dig his fingernails into my skin; which just fueled my desire.

I found myself wanting even more of his blood. I didn't hesitate to bite his bottom lip; I needed to satiate my sudden blood lust. I lapped up the blood from his lips and moved on to his neck. I gently nibbled a trail to his collarbone before sinking my teeth into his soft flesh. I had my hands on either side of his hips, and began to hold him in place. I wasn't very gentle about it either. I knew from past experience that I was using enough force to bruise his hipbones.

Itachi whimpered desperately. He began to squirm beneath me in an attempt to get away. "Ngh...hurts. Hidan that hurts..." He weakly grabbed me by my arms and tried to push me off. "Hidan, I said you're hurting me." His voice sounded more pissed than scared by this point.

I knew I was gonna regret it, but, I didn't stop. I continued to chew on his neck and squeeze his hips. I moved my mouth to his left shoulder and bit that as well. I started to move Itachi's pants down so I could dig my nails into his skin. I just couldn't get _enough. _

Itachi suddenly dug his fingernails into my arms and used all of his strength to slam me into the wall behind our bed. He was looking directly into my eyes with the coldest, expressionless face I'd ever seen. And he was staring at me with Mangekyo Sharingan eyes.

I gulped and went wide eyed. _"Oh shit."_

* * *

A/N: I apologize for how long it took to get the second chapter finished! There was a lot going on in my personal life, both good and bad, and I just didn't have time.

Hopefully it keeps enough interest at this point; it's pretty different from what I usually write.

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	3. Chapter 3

**Mild Violence caused by Tsukuyomi.  
**

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I let go of all emotions and completely detached myself from Hidan. I risked inflicting further damage to myself by activating the Tsukuyomi; but Hidan had pushed things too far. "Tsukuyomi."

_**Hidan was standing in the middle of a barren wasteland. He was barefoot; the ground beneath him scorching hot. He was unable to move, aside from his head, that is. "Ah, ouch, the ground is fucking hot!"**_

_**I stared at him indifferently. "You should have stopped when you had the chance, Hidan."**_

_**I stepped towards him slowly. "I am going to show you what true** **pain feels like. By the time **_

_**I end the Tsukuyomi, you're going to forget you ever enjoyed the feeling of pain."**_

_**Hidan's eyes went wide and he gulped. He just stared at me in shock. "W-Wait man, this ain't **_

_**cool! I'm sorry alright, that what you wanna hear? Huh? Just take it easy and calm down."**_

"_**I'm afraid I can't do that. You see, you wouldn't learn anything. You'd just ignore my feelings**_

_**again." With a blink of my eyes, there were now multiple swords piercing his sides. I was using**_

_**Kunai knives to stab and cut along his arms and legs. **_

_**He let out a menacing chuckle. "That the best ya got?"**_

_**I locked eyes with him. "Oh no Hidan, we've only just begun." I inflicted a Tsukuyomi version**_

_**of Amaterasu everywhere a blade pierced his skin. He was now being burned, cut , and stabbed **_

_**simultaneously. "This will last for three days. However; outside of the Tsukuyomi it will take**_

_**mere seconds." —**_

I broke the Tsukuyomi after the three days had ended. I deactivated my Sharingan and winced in pain; normal use of the Tsukuyomi wouldn't have been a bother, but... I made sure Hidan would be knocked out for a while. I removed myself from the bed and made my way to the bathroom. I shut and locked the door behind me before letting out a heavy sigh. I laid my weight against the bathroom door and closed my eyes. _"He's not so gentle after all..." _I sighed again.

After a few minutes of leaning against the door, I decided to get a nice, hot bath. I stripped down to nothing and left my clothes in a neat pile on the counter. I braced myself for the heat, before slowly sinking into the large tub. I let out a content sigh as all of my pain and anxiety went away. I closed my eyes and relaxed against the tub, which, lucky for me; was set up with it's own heater. So I didn't have to worry about cold water anytime soon.

Time passed by unnoticed. Comforting heat was all around me; easing all of the pain my illness had been causing. _"If Hidan hadn't been being such a jackass, I might have asked him to join me..."_ No sooner had that thought crossed my mind, I heard a quiet knock on the bathroom door.

"H-Hey, 'Tachi?" Hidan's voice was quiet and weak; it sounded rather pitiful, actually.

I sighed as my peaceful bliss had finally come to an end. "What?" I kept my voice even, but made sure a touch of hostility could be heard.

Hidan sighed behind the door. "...I really am sorry. I know I was being a complete jackass, and ignored your feelings. I'm a sadistic, self-centered, narcissistic bastard. I deserved every second of that Tsukuyomi."

I sighed when I found myself smiling at his apology. I slowly rose from the tub, but yelped when I slipped and fell back into it. "Nghff!" I realized I was feeling light-headed, and very dizzy. I sighed; way too much time in the tub.

Hidan knocked on the door again. "Hey man, are you okay?"

"Tch." I shook my head and carefully made my way out of the tub. "I must have been in the bath too long, just a little light-headed..." I was about to put on my _only_ pair of clothes, when I noticed a small closet. I wrapped a towel around my waist and walked over to inspect the contents of said closet. There were yukatas inside all of varying sizes. I set my eyes on a plain, black yukata that looked small enough for me to wear. After inspecting the size of it, I decided to change into it. _"This is very comfortable."_ Hidan suddenly crossed my mind, so I made my way to the door.

I slowly unlocked the door before opening it just as slowly. I peeked out and saw that Hidan was standing back towards the bed. I looked him up and down; he definitely looked tired, and mentally drained. _"Hmph, good." _I stood in the doorway to the bathroom and stared at him indifferently.

He gulped and scratched the side of his face. He stared at me nervously for several minutes before sighing. "Uhm...damn, Itachi I really am sorry. If you want me to go, I'll—"

I was wrapped around Hidan's body with my face pressed into his neck in mere seconds. "Hidan, shut up."

Hidan stopped talking and immediately wrapped his arms around me. "So...you don't want me to leave?"

I shook my head against his chest. "No." I peeked up at him. "I want you to lay down and hold me while you brush my hair. It will help me stay relaxed."

Hidan immediately looked relieved at my words. "Kay, I can do that." His usual grin returned to his face and he carefully scooped me up in his arms. He laid me down against one of the pillows and leaned in to place a kiss on my forehead, but hesitated.

I blinked. "Why did you stop?"

Hidan smiled sheepishly. "Well, I kind of thought, maybe you wouldn't want me to yet."

I sighed. "You can kiss me Hidan, but that's it. No biting, no scratching. Just be gentle with me; I'm suffering from a very serious illness, so I'm extremely fragile."

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I nodded slowly before placing my lips against his forehead. "Okay. I can be gentle." I carefully ran my fingers through his hair. "Do you have your own brush you want me to use, or just one from the bathroom?"

He blinked a few times and shook his head. "I have a brush in one of my pouches. I'm not sure which one it's in though, you kind of have all of my stuff in a jumbled mess."

I chuckled. "Yeah, sorry about that. I'll find it." I got up and rummaged through his pouches. I found two hairbrushes, so I just grabbed one. The one I grabbed was a rather unique looking hairbrush. It was all black, with a crooked edged handle. On the underside of it was chipped silver paint in a child's handwriting. The brush seemed pretty worn, so it took a while for me to make out the characters for the word _Aniki_. I tilted my head and held the brush up to him. "Hey, this says Aniki, right? This some sorta keepsake or something?"

Itachi's eyes went wide for a moment and he frowned. "...I do not wish to speak of it." He took the brush from my hand and rolled over onto his side. "Use the other brush."

I blinked. _"...What'd I say?" _I hestitantly grabbed the other brush from his pouch and scooched closer to him. I laid him across my lap and began to gently brush his hair. _"Well, fuck me. His hair is unbelievably soft!"_ I couldn't believe how soft his hair was. "Alright man, your hair is too soft; it ain't fair to the rest of the world."

Itachi appeared unfazed by my joke at first, but after another minute he let out what must have been suppressed laughter. "It's probably due to the fact it's the only part of me that's healthy."

I couldn't help but chuckle at his morbid sense of humor. "Y'know, your sense of humor is kind of sick."

"Well yes, as am I." Itachi rolled over to look up at me, and he appeared much happier than he did a few minutes ago. He was obviously having a hard time holding in his laughter; which just made him look adorable.

I chuckled again and smiled sheepishly. I glanced down at his hands to see that he was gently holding his black brush. "Hey...uhm, would it be too much to ask you about that brush?" I sighed. "No, wait, shit... never mind, you already said you didn't want to talk about it...sorry."

Itachi let out a sigh of his own before holding the brush up to his face. He gently brushed a thumb over the worn out letters and frowned. "It was a gift from my younger brother...he hand painted the word _Aniki_ on it. He was only five at the time, it was when I had first started growing my hair out." He smiled fondly as he spoke. "I've kept it ever since, it's the only thing I have left from our childhood."

I knew I was going to regret prying further, but I couldn't stop my idiotic mouth from moving. "So, it's pretty special to you then, cause you're brother made it and all? I thought you killed your family because you were messed up and hated all of them. It's kind of odd that you still hold onto a gift from your brother."

He frowned at me, and all traces of happiness vanished from his face. He crawled off of me and made his way under the blankets. Itachi's back was to me and he sighed again. "I'm hungry, and I don't feel like talking anymore."

"Oh, okay. Yeah, I'll uh... get you somethin' to eat." I got off of the bed and got dressed. I made sure I had my money before heading for the door. I had gotten all the way down stairs and was about to leave the Inn, when something very important dawned on me: I don't know what Itachi likes to eat. "Ah, shit." Cursing myself, I walked all the way back up the stairs into the room Itachi and I were sharing. "Hey, dumb-ass me forgot to ask you what you wanted to eat."

Itachi slowly rolled over to face me. "Soup."

I stared at him dumbfounded. "Soup? Just soup?"

He nodded. "I've been throwing up for the past twelve hours Hidan, there's nothing else I'll be able to hold down."

"Ohhh, well yeah, guess that makes sense." I ran my fingers through my hair. "Alright, well, I'll be back with your soup." I turned around and made my way down to the first floor. _Again. _I shook my head and sighed. _"Something tells me I'm not boyfriend material..." _I slowly made my way to a small tea-house that was next to the Inn, as I was too lazy to walk very far. I approached the counter and smiled at the young girl who worked there. "Hey miss, my friend isn't feeling very well, and he's in the mood for some soup. You have anything that's easy for a person to hold down while having an upset stomach?"

She smiled back at him and nodded. "Of course, shall I put together a few quarts of vegetable soup and chicken soup?"

"Yeah, that'd be great." I smiled and nodded.

"All right sir, I'll have that ready in just a moment." She turned around and went into the back to prepare the soup. She was back within ten minutes and had two fresh quarts of vegetable soup along with two fresh quarts of chicken soup. "That will be 160 ryo, sir."

I nodded and happily placed the money on the counter, along with a little extra. "Thank you very much." I grabbed the soup and smiled at her. "You can keep the change, sweetheart."

She blinked and bowed in reply. "Thank you very much. Please come again."

"_Boy I sure hope Itachi likes this soup..." _That was the only thought running through my head as I walked back to the Inn. I made sure to open the door to mine and Itachi's room quietly, in case he was sleeping.

My raven-haired comrade was sitting on the balcony staring out at the beautiful view. The gentle breeze was blowing Itachi's hair across his face, but he didn't seem to mind. The blanket from the bed was wrapped loosely around his shoulders.

I took a deep breath and mentally prepared myself to not be an idiot. I walked out onto the balcony and cleared my throat. "Hey, uhm, ya want vegetable or chicken?" I held up the two paper bags in my hands to show him.

He blinked a few times and then sighed. "Is there beef in with the vegetable?"

"Huh? Oh, I'm not sure. Lemme check." I turned around and walked over to the bedside table. I carefully set down the bags containing Itachi's soup on the table. I inspected the vegetable soup to find there was indeed beef mixed in. Leaving the soup behind, I returned to the balcony with a cheery smile on my face. "Yo, there is a bunch of beef in with the vegetable soup!"

Itachi frowned at me. "...Then I'll have chicken soup. You can have the vegetable soup..."

I cocked my head to the side. "Huh? What's the matter? I thought...you wanted beef...?"

He shook his head and sighed. "No Hidan, I dislike steak and any other form of beef... I suppose it's my fault for not telling you. I'm used to Kisame knowing what I like to eat without me having to say anything..."

I dropped my head and let out a sigh of defeat. _"Fuck."_

* * *

A/N: Well here is the next chapter! Poor Hidan, it started off so well. Now he's just digging himself a bigger hole.

And thank you for the lovely reviews, it really helps keep me motivated!

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	4. Chapter 4

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I frowned at Itachi. "Man, I'm just digging myself a deeper hole, ain't I?" I went and grabbed the chicken soup and the plastic spoon that came with it. I brought it out to Itachi and slowly handed it to him. "I think you need to have a talk with your feelings and tell them everything that's wrong about liking me..."

Itachi smiled faintly. "Then, I suppose if our feelings are mutual, you should have a similar conversation with yourself; I come with a lot of baggage. Most of which, I intend to take with me to my grave. Which is why, I'm going to tell you up front; I have secrets, and if you're not willing to except my personal space and privacy, then platonic we shall remain."

I blinked and then nodded in understanding. "Okay, gotcha. I'm used to people having secrets, and I kind of feel like the Akatsuki is a place where we can all be horrible, miserable bastards and still make friends without judgment. Unless, y'know, your partner is Kakuzu. That guy is all sorts of judgment."

Itachi chuckled softly at my remark and his mood seemed to improve. "Thank you, by the way... for the soup." He said quietly before slowly digging into his food.

I sat down next to him with the vegetable soup and smiled. "Yeah, no problem. Name anything you want, and it's yours." I smirked at him. "Unless it's y'know, like a star, or the moon, or the sun, cause those I can't give you."

My raven-haired comrade nearly spit his soup out, and instead began to choke on it. His mood was much better than before, so he was laughing at my stupid jokes again. "Hidan, not while I'm eating, please." He frowned at me, but his eyes betrayed him; they were full of amusement.

I laughed menacingly and gave him a smug look. "But you're so cute when your laughter causes you to choke. Especially if it was caused by my stupid jokes." I scooched closer and placed a gentle peck on his right cheek. "Are you feeling any better?"

He laid his head down against my shoulder and sighed. "Well, at the very least, I don't feel the need to throw up excessive amounts of blood anymore."

"Well that's good, I s'ppose." I kissed the top of his head gently. "Now, eat your soup before it gets cold. I didn't walk all the way next door for nothing y'know."

His lips formed a smile against my shoulder and he sat up after a moment. He resumed eating his soup at a slow pace, and before long, he had finished half of it. He put the lid back on the container and set it down on the bench beside him. "All right, I think that's all I can handle at the moment..."

I on the other hand, had pretty much devoured the entire two quarts of vegetable soup. "Okie dokie. Lemme just take care of that for you." I took his container and spoon and put it down on the bedside table. I returned to the balcony and tilted my head at him. "Y'know, we don't have a fridge or anything to keep the soup fresh, or to even heat it back up."

He sighed. "I usually just pick off of Kisame's plate, so I guess if you want the rest of the chicken soup, you can eat that too."

My eyes lit up. "Oh great, cause I'm still kind of hungry. I'll be right back." I hurried off to the bed and quickly finished the rest of the chicken soup. _"Damn, that was some good soup." _I walked back out and plopped down next to Itachi. "Thanks man!" I gave him a sheepish grin as I patted my stomach.

He gave a small smile before yawning softly. He blinked his eyes a few times and yawned again. He glanced over at me and eyed my chest for a moment before bringing his gaze up to meet mine. "Hidan..."

"All yours." I replied knowingly.

Itachi moved closer and curled up against my chest. He tucked himself deep into the blanket and nestled his face into the crook of my neck. "I'm sorry I keep going to sleep... I promise I'll be good to go in another day."

I ran my fingers through his hair. "Shush, you're fine. It's not often I get to relax like this, and it's kind of nice to have someone to take care of." After another ten minutes of playing with his hair, I heard his breathing even out. _"Ah good, he managed to fall asleep." _I sat there for a while enjoying the warm breeze, before I too, gave in to sleep.

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I wasn't sure how long I'd been asleep, but it didn't feel long enough by the time I opened my eyes. I glanced around and noticed I was back in bed. I frowned when I realized Hidan was no where in sight. "Hidan?"

He popped his head out of the bathroom. "Oh hey, you're awake. Everything okay?"

I immediately felt relieved, but shook my head in reply. "I'm cold." Although I wasn't particularly _warm_, I wasn't very cold either.

Hidan smiled softly and nodded. "Kay, lemme finish cleaning up and I'll be right there." He emerged a few minutes later in one of the other yukatas. His was a dull grey color and it fit him perfectly. He crawled into the bed next to me. "Man, these sure are comfy."

I looked at him and then the yukata, and back up at his face. "Are you, wearing pants under your yukata?"

Hidan chuckled. "Of course man, don't worry, I wasn't gonna go commando on you."

I didn't even hesitate to crawl over and remove his yukata. I threw it onto the floor and snuggled up against Hidan's bare chest. His warmth was so incredible and I let out a content sigh. "Hmm, this is better _and_ warmer." I completely relaxed against Hidan so that he was fully supporting my body weight. I closed my eyes and nuzzled into him.

"Hey! What're you doing?" He chuckled softly. "I guess I'm just not meant to cover up this gorgeous chest, huh?"

I smiled against his skin and shook my head. "No. You're warm, and comfortable. And I can hear your heart beat better." I couldn't help but let out another content sigh. "I want to go back to sleep, but I don't want to be alone."

Hidan sighed. "I'm starting to think that you weren't cold at all, and you just suckered me into holding you while you sleep the day away." His entire voice was laced with amusement.

I tried to hold back my smile, but failed miserably. "Precisely." I pulled up on the blanket to wrap it around Hidan and myself. I leaned up and placed a gentle kiss on his lips. "I rarely sleep as it is; I always let Kisame sleep while I keep watch. So..." I lowered my gaze. "Please...?" My voice was quiet; weak, even.

Hidan sighed in defeat. "Well how the hell can I say no to that face and that voice?" He gently lifted my chin to look me in the eyes. He returned my kiss and then placed a gentle one on my forehead. "Rest up, 'Tachi. I want this mission to go so well that we'll be assigned even _more_ missions together." He wrapped his arms around me and cradled me against his chest. He placed another gentle kiss on the top of my head before nuzzling into my hair.

I sighed contently and yawned softly against his skin. "Understood." I smiled happily to myself; Hidan was far too easy to manipulate. I closed my eyes and sighed again. "You'll still be here when I wake up, right?"

Hidan chuckled. "Would you shut up and go the fuck to sleep already? Geez, you talk like you're tired all the time, but all you want to do is stay up and talk." He laughed again as he teased me.

I huffed against his chest. "You didn't answer my question you know..." I peeked up at him with one eye open and a hopeful smile on my face.

He sighed. "Yeah, yeah. I'll be here when the little weasel wakes up. But in order for that to happen, said weasel has gotta sleep first."

I laughed against his chest and closed my eye again. "Okay, okay." I made sure I was comfortable against his chest before allowing sleep to take over once again.

* * *

I was forced awake by something very bright shining on me. I groaned and pulled the blanket over my head. "It _can't_ be morning already..."

Hidan chuckled beside me. "Hate to burst your bubble there princess, but, it is morning." He lifted the blanket and smiled at me. "It's actually pretty damn early, like six. So all that napping yesterday really did the trick; this is the earliest I've woken up on my own."

I groaned again. "I'm happy for you. Now please turn off the sun, it's too bright."

Hidan laughed again. "Aw come on, how about we go out and get some fresh air?"

"We got fresh air yesterday when we napped on the balcony." I said in a flat tone.

He scoffed. "Well, it's not like _more_ fresh air is going to _kill_ you. Let's get up outta bed and get some breakfast. It'll do you some good to walk around a bit. It'll also give us a chance to see where you're at health wise. So stop being a lazy ass." Hidan chuckled at the last sentence. "But I'll give you credit for trying." He pulled me up into a sitting position and kissed my temple.

"Fine." I sighed before placing my head against his shoulder. "But I'm getting cleaned up first." Unwillingly, I removed myself from the bed and walked into the bathroom. I stripped down and got into the tub. Inn tubs were always much nicer, for they were practically small, artificial hot springs. I heard Hidan sigh from the other room.

"Yo, Uchiha, are you seriously taking a fucking bath?" He got up and made his way into the bathroom. "You're just prolonging the time you spend indoors, aren't ya?"

I turned around to look at him and scoffed. "...Yes." I could feel my face heat up. _"I...forgot to shut the door."_

Hidan smirked at me before moving closer. He reached over to the bathroom counter and grabbed a small bottle of shampoo. He gestured for me to turn around, and waited for me to comply. He got down on his knees and began to gently massage the shampoo through my hair. "Y'know, I'm starting to think I'm easy to manipulate. I keep treating you like a damn prince."

I was far too busy enjoying the rough, calloused hands that were massaging my scalp to hear what Hidan had said. "Nngh..." I closed my eyes and relaxed against the back of the tub. "If you keep that up, I'm going to fall asleep again..."

Hidan chuckled softly. "I'm just trying to keep you relaxed and pain free." He leaned down and placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. "It's nice to have someone that brings out the gentle side in me. And, it's not like you and I have ever really had the chance to get to know each other. Or interact with each other before now. And sure, there's been lots of times I see you in the base, and think; damn, he's so hot. But now, it's like, damn; he's letting me shampoo his hair."

I smiled at his words and then found myself laughing a moment later. "Well, I've never had another person shampoo my hair before now. But now I don't think I could go without it." I leaned back to look up at him. "Your hands really do feel am—" My words were cut short by firm lips being pressed against mine. "Nnghf."

Hidan kissed me for a few moments before pulling away. "Wow, my first upside down kiss; that was pretty hot." He smiled down at me with a look of amusement on his face.

I felt my face heating up, and I sank down into the tub. I bit my lower lip for a moment, something I did out of habit when I felt anxious.

Hidan chuckled softly before placing a gentle kiss on my forehead. "Okay. Now, rinse your hair and get that pretty little ass of yours outta the tub. I'm starving!" His face suddenly went red and he scratched the side of his neck. "Uhm, no wait, that sounded wrong. I mean...get out of the tub so we can go eat food. At...a restaurant..."

I immediately burst into laughter. It was honestly the funniest thing I'd seen in a very long time. Who knew Hidan could get embarrassed? I couldn't contain my laughter and soon had to cover my mouth.

I finally got my laughter under control, and began to hold my stomach. "Ah...thank you Hidan. I can't remember the last time I laughed that hard."

Hidan smiled shyly at me. "Heh...uh, sure thing. No problem..." He cleared his throat. "Hey listen, I'll just, uhm, wait by the bed." He turned on his heel and started to leave the bathroom.

I spun around and leaned over the tub before grabbing his wrist. "Hidan, wait."

* * *

A/N: So here we have the next chapter! I think Hidan is on his way to redeem himself~

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	5. Chapter 5

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I surprised myself when I grabbed Hidan's wrist. As we locked eyes, I stared at him pleadingly. "Hidan..." I willed myself to speak up. "Join me?"

Hidan stared at me in disbelief. "Really?"

I nodded. "It's just a bath. It will lessen the time it takes for us to get ready for breakfast. This way is more efficient, and besides, you said it yourself; you never get to just relax. So... please?"

Hidan's expression softened. "Well damn. When you say it like _that, _how can I say no?" He moved to the other side of the tub and stripped down. He quickly made his way into the tub and sighed upon hitting the water. "Wow, yup, I'm already sold. This is fan-fucking-tastic."

I smiled a little and tilted my head to the side. "Didn't you take a bath yesterday when I was taking a nap?"

He shook his head. "Nah, I just washed up using a cloth and the sink."

I blinked. "You've got to be kidding?"

He scratched the side of his face and chuckled. "Ah, nope. I guess I'm still used to the way things are when I'm with Kakuzu. We rarely stay at Inns, and when we do, they're really cheap, crappy ones. So most of the time we rely on streams and rain to wash up."

I frowned at him. _"His and Kakuzu's relationship is much different than mine and Kisame's..."_ I wasn't aware I'd been thinking about that for a few minutes, until I was splashed in the face. I blinked and looked at him. "What was that for?"

Hidan smiled at me and shook his head. "You frowned at me and sorta spaced out. You feel okay?"

"Huh? Oh." I returned his smile. "Forgive me, I was just thinking about how your relationship with Kakuzu differs from mine and Kisame's. It seems like you don't get along very well, and even get mistreated by him. Whereas, I've been with Kisame since I was a child, so... he's been partially responsible for raising me."

"Wait what? You've been in the Akatsuki since you were a kid? Like, how old?" He seemed genuinely surprised, and eagerly awaited my answer.

I chuckled at his response. "I was about thirteen or so when I first joined."

Hidan seemed to be at a loss for words. He looked rather adorable while trying to comprehend what I had just said. His mouth was open ever so slightly; which just furthered his cuteness.

I smiled and leaned in to place a quick, but gentle kiss on his lips. I pulled away and slowly got out of the tub. I wrapped a towel around my waist and chuckled. "Hidan, you coming, or what?"

He shook his head and blinked a few times. "Oh yeah, I just, wow. I can't believe you joined the Akatsuki at such a young age." He stood up a little too quickly and jumped out of the tub. Which, just made him slide right into me. He knocked me down and toppled over me. "Ow, fuck!"

My back collided roughly with the floor; nearly knocking the wind out of me. The two of us laid there stunned for a moment. "Hn...Hidan, I can't breathe. So, if you're okay, could you get off of me?"

Hidan sighed and shook his head. "Fuck! I'm dizzy."

I huffed. "Probably because you're not used to being in hot water like that, and you stood up too fast." I groaned and tried to shift out from under him. "Hidan, it really is getting difficult to breathe..."

He rolled over so he was only laying across half of me. He nuzzled his face into my bare chest and sighed. "Gimme a sec..."

The world seemed to stop in that moment. The two of us laid there, soaking wet, mind you; for what must have been another twenty minutes. The warmth of our skin keeping the other from getting too cold. For the first time since either of us could remember, we were both in a content silence. The only sounds to be heard were our breathing and our heart beats. After a few more minutes, however; Hidan began to tremble against me. I wrapped my arms around him and placed a gentle kiss on his head. "Hidan, you're freezing. We need to get up and get dressed before we're _both_ ill."

Hidan sighed and reluctantly got up; allowing me to wrap a towel around his trembling form. He pressed his face back into my chest. "No fair, I'm supposed to be taking care of you..."

I directed him towards the bed and chuckled softly. I picked through his clothes and found something that should be comfortable enough for him to wear. "Here." I handed him his clothes and went back into the bathroom to grab mine. I walked back out a minute later to find Hidan fully dressed on the bed. I smiled softly and took a seat beside him. I placed a gentle kiss on his temple. "You know...part of being in a relationship is taking turns looking out for each other..." I placed another kiss on his temple and smiled as he let out a content sigh.

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~ _

* * *

Itachi and I had stayed on the bed for a while longer before we finally went out to eat. We had a very nice breakfast together at a small tea house. My darling weasel had laughed at literally _all_ of my jokes. Afterwards, I took him shopping, because let's face it; the man has _one_ pair of clothes. One. I mean, that's just sad. He only has the Akatsuki uniform to wear everyday of his life.

He had of course, objected to almost everything I had picked out for him. He didn't like the form fitting clothing I was showing him, and refused to try anything on that wasn't two sizes too big for him. He finally settled on some nice sweat pants and matching sweaters. All black, naturally.

We stayed away from the Inn for most of the day. It wasn't until we had finished eating dinner that Itachi let on how tired he really was. He'd nearly fallen asleep at the table, and apologetically asked if we could go back to our room. After telling him for the _tenth_ time it was okay; we both went to bed.

* * *

I awoke to the sun beating down on my face. I slowly blinked my eyes open and smiled. Itachi was still fast asleep against my chest; which is exactly where he'd been when we fell asleep last night. I carefully ran my fingers through his hair a few times before massaging his scalp just as carefully. _"He looks so peaceful when he sleeps." _

Itachi began to press his head up into my hand, nearly purring in the process. He yawned softly before sighing contently against my chest. "I could get used to waking up like this." He sat up and looked down at me with a small smile on his face.

I sat up and returned his smile. "Well, as long as Kisame isn't gonna feed me to Samehada; I'll gladly wake up _early_ just to wake you up like I just did."

He laid his head down against my shoulder and yawned again. "Hidan..." He let out another sigh, but this one didn't sound like the happy kind. "We...should probably head out for the Land of Iron now..."

His face was pressed into my skin so his words were kind of muffled. Which, just made him sound adorable as fuck.

I placed a kiss on his head. "Yeah, because if you stay there much longer, I may just feel like abandoning the mission." I chuckled at the mere _idea_ of what Pein and Kakuzu would do to me if I did that.

Itachi sighed again and pulled away. He got off of the bed and collected all of his things. He went into the bathroom and shut the door. He returned ten minutes later fully dressed in his Akatsuki gear. His Sharingan was activated as well, which clearly meant he was ready to go.

"Ah, guess I probably shoulda gotten ready while you were in the bathroom." I chuckled and ran a hand through my hair. "Whoops." It only took a few minutes for me to get dressed, but longer to put all of my stuff in an orderly fashion. "Alright! I'm ready to go, so let's get this show on the road!" I was just about to open the door when I was flipped around and pressed against it. My eyes went wide as I stared at Itachi. "H-Hey—"

Itachi cupped the collar of my Akatsuki cloak and pressed our lips together. He began to kiss me softly,before slowly turning it into a more heated kiss. This lasted several minutes before he finally pulled away. He let out a shaky breath and sighed. "I needed one last kiss before we turned back into heartless shinobi for the sake of our mission."

I continued to stare wide eyed at him and then blinked a few times. "O-Oh, I see..." I could feel my face getting hot, which was unusual for me; I'm not usually the blushing type. "Well, that was one hell of a kiss."

He let out another shaky breath. "All right, we can get going now." He backed away and gestured for me to open the door.

"Right!" I opened the door and off we went. We walked side by side throughout the village. Neither of us were really talking at the moment. People were staring at us, which kind of made me feel like a celebrity. But I knew Itachi wouldn't want the extra attention, so I stayed quiet. Which is why the second we were out of the village, I decided to resume being my loud, obnoxious self. "Alright! Watch out Land of Iron, here we come!"

Itachi chuckled softly and shook his head. "You've been waiting this entire time to yell that at the top of your lungs, haven't you?"

I let out a chuckle of my own. "Well yeah man! I can't stay quiet for too long, the world might forget about me." This earned another laugh from Itachi, and I smiled. We slowly made our way towards the Land of Iron. And when I say slow, I mean _slow._ After hours and hours of endless walking I couldn't take it anymore. Itachi had barely spoken all day, and I was actually getting _tired_ of hearing _myself_ speak. "Hey, 'Tachi?"

Itachi looked over at at me for a moment before turning his attention to the road again. "Yes, Hidan?"

I pursed my lips for a moment. "How long do you think it will take for us to get to the Land of Iron?"

Itachi took a deep breath and sighed. "Well, that depends on which way we go. If we were to cut north through the Land of Fire, we could be there in two days. But, if we go around the Land of Fire, it would take three to five days to reach the Land of Iron." He looked over at me again. "I'm all right either way, but I don't think it would be wise to travel through the Land of Fire..."

I tilted my head at him and stopped walking. "Well, I mean, we don't have a set time limit on the mission, so I mean, we could just go around." I thought it over a minute and realized he looked a little sad. "What's wrong?"

He sighed and shook his head. "I would prefer not to go through Sound territory... Which is just north of the Land of Fire."

I considered asking him about it, but decided against it. He said he had secrets after all, so I wasn't going to pry. Especially when he already looked so sad. "Okay, I guess we'll go around then. It'll give us more time together." I couldn't resist the urge to kiss those pouting lips. I walked right over to him and pecked him gently.

His eyes went wide and he jumped. "Hidan..." He sighed. "It's imperative that we continue walking until night falls. So, wait until we make camp later, all right?"

I huffed. "Okay, okay." I stole another kiss before hurrying ahead of him.

"Hey! What did I just say?" Sounding more embarrassed than annoyed; Itachi hurried after me.

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

Hidan had rushed ahead of me so quickly that it took me several minutes to catch up. Once I caught up to him, he was leaning against a tree holding his stomach as a fit of laughter washed over him. I frowned at him. "Are you quite done yet?" I was looking away from him; I knew I was blushing.

He stopped laughing after another moment. "Sorry, sorry, I couldn't resist. You're too damn kissable."

I huffed. "Let's just get moving..." I shuffled ahead of him and kept my eyes on the road. _"He's going to make focusing on this mission difficult..." _I peeked over at him for a second. I sighed and returned to looking ahead of me. _"Oh yes... **extremely** difficult."_

I was walking as fast as I could without tiring myself out. I wanted nothing more than for it to be night and for us to make camp somewhere. _"Ah, I can hardly wait for him to fall asleep while I keep watch. I'll be able to huddle up against his chest and listen to his heart beat for the entire night." _I let out a sigh. I continued to stay lost in my thoughts, not really paying any mind to what Hidan was saying, nor what I was seeing.

Hidan cleared his throat. "Hey, y'know we've been walking with nothing but the moon as light for about twenty minutes, right?"

I blinked and stopped in my tracks. I looked over at him and tilted my head. "What?"

Hidan shook his head. "This means we can set up camp now, right...?" He looked like a hopeful little puppy.

I smiled apologetically. "Forgive me, Hidan. It's not like me to zone out my surroundings." I shook my head and deactivated my Sharingan. "And yes, we may set up camp now—!" I yelped in surprise as I was suddenly tackled to the ground.

Hidan had jumped me and knocked me deeper into the forest. We were well hidden by various bushes and tree trunks; but he didn't seem to care either way. He kissed me with as much passion as I had earlier at the Inn. He then placed several kisses all over my face.

I squirmed slightly and decided to just give into my laughter. "Hidan..."

Hidan chuckled and placed another kiss on my lips. "I told you before Itachi; you're just too damn kissable."

* * *

A/N: Here is the next chapter. I decided to do a bit of time skipping, which I'll also do in the next chapter at some point so that they can move ahead on their mission.

Also, I have a deviantART and a tumblr, both of which are under the username Tabitha-Grace

I've been sketching up a few scenes from this fan fic, so if any of you ever want to see something, feel free to leave some suggestions. ^^

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	6. Chapter 6

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

Hidan laid on top of me and showered me with kisses for quite some time. He teased me about how adorable I looked when I was embarrassed, and continued to kiss my face. I felt like my heart was going to explode in my chest; he was just _too_ much. "H-Hidan—!" I chuckled against him and finally managed to push him up by his shoulders. "Hidan, please..."

The silver haired zealot smirked at me smugly. "Please what?"

I let out a huff and smiled at him. "Please tone down how much you excite me; my poor heart is fragile you know. Too much excitement at one time will cause it to beat quicker, which will possibly trigger another attack."

Hidan looked frightened for a moment. He got off of me and sat up against a tree. "...Sorry."

I sat up and crawled over to him. I placed a gentle kiss on his cheek before laying across his lap. "I didn't mean to make you feel guilty, Hidan. I'm not mad at you either, I just thought you'd be happier if I didn't throw up blood all over you again."

Hidan chuckled softly and began to play with my hair. "Yeah, I know. I just don't like the idea of causing you pain." He continued to stroke my hair with the gentlest of touches. "How about you go to sleep, and I'll keep watch?"

Normally I would have completely protested, however; his hands felt so very nice on my head. I could already feel sleep washing over me as I relaxed against Hidan. I blinked a few times before closing my eyes completely. I let out a soft yawn followed by a content sigh. "Hn, sleep...understood." I nuzzled into him. _"So much for listening to his heart beat all night." _I smiled softly. _"Ah well. There's always tomorrow."_

* * *

I wasn't sure what time it was, but I was starting to enter that state where you're half aware of what's going on. I was beginning to realize I felt very warm, and very safe. I also felt like I was moving, or rather, being...rocked? I started to blink my eyes before slowly opening them fully. When I came to, I realized I was being carried on Hidan's back. It appeared to be mid-afternoon. "Hn...Hidan?"

Hidan looked back at me for a second before turning his attention back to the path. "Hey, you're finally awake?" He looked back at me again and smiled. "You slept through the night, but you wouldn't wake up this morning. No matter how many times I tried to wake you up, you wouldn't. You just kept nuzzling closer into me and making adorable sleep noises."

I nodded against his shoulder as I tightened my grip on his neck. I yawned softly. "How long have I been asleep?"

Hidan inhaled and let out a deep breath; clearly thinking that over. "Well, I'd say it's about two or three in the afternoon. You really seemed content and determined to stay asleep, so I figured I'd just keep on carrying you. I mean, it's not like we don't have another four days before we reach the Land of Iron, so you can still take this time to sleep if you need to."

I sighed. "But Hidan... You don't have to carry me every second of the day...I'm truly sorry for not waking up, I was just so..." I yawned again before closing my eyes. "...tired."

Hidan chuckled softly. "You're fine Itachi, stop apologizing for everything. You're not at all heavy. And besides, I lug around those damn bounties for Kakuzu all the time, so I'm used to carrying someone elses weight around for days at a time. At least the person I'm carrying right now is light and friendly, likes to cuddle and is, y'know; alive."

I pressed my face tightly into his shoulder blade and laughed softly. "...Thank you, Hidan."

He chuckled again. "No problem. Just let me know when you're hungry or wanna get down, 'kay?"

I nodded against his shoulder blade again. "Okay."

Hidan literally carried me for the rest of the day. I had drifted in and out of consciousness several times by nightfall. He kept asking if I wished to be put down to stretch or get something to eat, but I kept telling him no.

He started walking away from the path and didn't stop until we reached a small clearing. There was a decent sized stream with a few large trees that would make for decent shelter. "Hey, we're gonna stop here for the night, okay?" He carefully set me down against one of the large trees.

I was finally able to see his face fully for the first time all day. I immediately felt guilty; he looked so exhausted. I frowned up at him and pulled him down against me.

Hidan let out a huff as his face collided with my chest. "Whoa, hey..." He chuckled against me. "What's the matter?"

I wrapped my arms around him tightly and buried my face in his hair. I remained silent and couldn't bring myself to answer his question. Every time he would attempt to remove himself from my lap I would tighten my grip.

Hidan chuckled again. "Itachi, what's up all of a sudden?"

I sighed. "...You're exhausted. Because of me." I nuzzled into his hair. "You haven't slept since the other night, I can tell..." I inhaled sharply. "You're not doing that to yourself again. I'm staying up to keep watch tonight. And don't try to protest, because I _will_ use my Sharingan if need be."

He let out a stunned sigh. "I-Itachi..." Hidan carefully maneuvered out of my grip to look at me. He smiled softly before gently pecking my lips. "Okay, I'll go to sleep." He re-positioned himself so that he was laying comfortably against my chest. He let out a soft yawn and nuzzled into me. "Hold me tight and don't let go."

I let out a sigh of relief and resumed holding him in a tight, but loving embrace. I listened to the sound of his breath slowly evening out. I felt his chest rise and fall against mine as he drifted off to sleep. I smiled and placed a kiss on the top of his head. "Sleep well, Hidan."

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I felt extremely warm, and just as comfortable. I began to slowly open my eyes. I groaned lazily and nuzzled into the source of my warmth. "Mornin' 'Tachi..." I mumbled against the fabric of his Akatsuki cloak.

Itachi inhaled deeply and sat up. He rubbed up and down my back gently. "Good morning."

I peeked up at him and smirked. "Were you sleeping?"

He blinked and shook his head. "No, I was simply resting my eyes. I figured it would be less eerie if you were to wake up and see me with my eyes closed than with them wide open staring into nothing."

I nuzzled back into his chest and giggled sleepily. "Oh I see. Well thank you for that, I don't think I'd like to see you like that. I might have thought you were possessed." I smiled when I felt him press his face into my hair. "So, you didn't sleep at all?"

He sighed. "Well..."

I sat up and smiled at him expectantly. "I knew it!"

He rolled his eyes and smiled. "I may have slept on and off. But it was only for a few minutes at a time." Itachi leaned forwards and placed a gentle kiss on my lips.

He was about to pull away from me, but I was having no part in that. I pushed him back into the tree and kissed him for much longer than I knew he originally planned. I pulled away and smirked at the stunned look on his face. "You cannot expect me to kiss you _once_ in the morning and _once_ before bed."

Itachi sighed and shook his head. He pecked me once more, and laid down on the grass; pulling me along with him. "Who said _I_ only wanted _one_ kiss?" He raised a brow and smirked at me.

I immediately showered him in kisses, both gentle and rough. We allowed ourselves a few minutes of kisses and loving touches. I reluctantly pulled away and smiled down at him. "Alright, Uchiha-Kun, it's time to find ourselves some breakfast."

He didn't look too convinced and blinked his eyes a few times. "Or, you could just catch some fish from the stream and I'll cook them up with a fire ball jutsu. It will be quicker than trying to find a village and taking unnecessary detours."

My eyes lit up. "Well, either you have the utmost faith in my fishing skills, or you just want me to kiss you again." It was my turn to raise a brow and smirk.

His big, black eyes were staring up at me innocently. "Or maybe I'm just hoping you'll be able to catch some fish so I don't starve to death."

"Pfft. That's real cute." I pecked his lips once before making my way over to the stream. I managed to catch several fish and within a few minutes we were feasting on freshly roasted breakfast. "Damn, these are _good_."

Itachi chuckled softly. "Well I can't take all of the credit, it's thanks to you that we're even eating them."

"Ah damn... it's all gone. Now that means we gotta get back on the road." I stood up and stretched for a while. "Okay, come on." I held my hand out to Itachi.

He smiled and put his hand on mine before standing up slowly. "Well, time for more walking."

I chuckled menacingly. "More like running."

Itachi tilted his head and narrowed his gaze. "Wait, what—?"

Before my darling Itachi had time to process what I'd meant; I stole another kiss and took off running. "See ya in the Land of Iron!"

* * *

The next couple of days were similar to the first. We'd take turns keeping watch, although we decided it would be better to only sleep a few hours at a time and switch shifts. Itachi's color returned to his face and he was eating a lot more than he had been. I of course, continued to steal kisses when he was least expecting it. I even stole one in the middle of a cafe when we were stopping for lunch.

Itachi had been extremely embarrassed by that and had given me the silent treatment for several hours. He was definitely letting on that he could be a very shy person when we weren't alone.

It was nearly night time now, and it was the fourth day since we'd left the Inn. I was becoming extremely excited; the Land of Iron was just a few hours away. I knew we'd reach our destination sometime tomorrow once we'd rested up and prepared ourselves. "Hey, 'Tachi?" He hadn't responded, but I knew he was paying attention, so I continued. "We should stop and make camp now."

And that's just what we did. We found a large, hollowed out tree to call home for the night.

Itachi suddenly crawled over to me and situated himself in my lap. He wrapped his arms around my neck and pressed his face into my chest. He inhaled sharply and let out a deep sigh. He stayed like that for quite some time. He still wasn't speaking, but he refused to let go of me. His face was pressed into my chest even after another ten minutes of sitting like that.

I smiled at him sympathetically. "Hey..." I ran my hands up and down his back. "What's the matter?"

He let out another deep sigh and shook his head. "...Are you, mad at me?"

I blinked. "Huh? Why the hell would I be mad at you? Because you weren't speaking to me? That's no reason for me to be angry at you at all Itachi. I mean, I was the one who stole a kiss in the middle of a public cafe, in front of a bunch of people. I know I probably embarrassed you all to hell, so I apologize for that. You're just so damn kissable, remember? I couldn't help myself when I saw how cute you looked after our meal." I placed a kiss on the top of his head. "But I can assure you; I'm most definitely not angry at my little weasel."

Itachi slouched and went limp. He nuzzled against me and sighed. "...All right. Thank you, Hidan." He peeked up at me and had the smallest of smiles on his face.

I knew by the expression on his face he was about to give me another unwarranted apology. So, before he even _tried_, I leaned forward and kissed the top of his head. "No." A kiss to his forehead. "More." Another to his nose. "Apologies." And finally, a peck on the lips.

Itachi's face turned a faint shade of red and he bit his bottom lip. He sighed in defeat and looked up at me. "Understood." He laid back down against my chest. It was rather quiet for a while, but Itachi suddenly mumbled something against my chest.

"Huh, sorry, what'cha say?" I ran my fingers through his hair. "I wasn't really paying attention because of how quiet you've been. Also your lips are kind of pressed up against my chest so your words were a bit muffled."

Itachi stirred restlessly and sighed. "I said, I'm hungry."

I chuckled softly. "Oh, okay then. Let's go find a stream or something, 'kay?" I tried to get up, but Itachi wouldn't budge. I laughed again. "Hey, Itachi?"

He yawned softly. "...I can't tell if I'm more tired or more hungry..." He yawned again and pressed into my shoulder.

"Nonsense. We're gonna go find some food. We have this nice tree to stay in, so there's no need for either of us to stay up and keep watch. We're gonna eat and then we're gonna cuddle up and go to sleep. We both need plenty of sleep for our mission tomorrow." I patted his back.

Itachi sighed and reluctantly got off of me. "...Very well." He slowly stood up and exited the tree. "You lead the way though. My eyes are tired and I cannot see very well."

I followed him out of the tree and held my hand out to him. "Okay. How about you just hold my hand then?" I smiled as he complied and allowed me to lead him by the hand. We walked for about a mile before we were able to find a stream. I easily caught some fish, even though it was pretty dark out. I carried them back to Itachi and smiled cheerfully. "Okay! Let's go back to our tree and feast on the flesh of fish!"

Itachi furrowed his brows before blinking several times. His face lit up and he laughed suddenly. "Feast...on the flesh of fish?" He repeated my sentence and was trying _very_ hard not to burst into laughter again.

I blushed. "What? Was it really that funny?"

He let out a soft chuckle and nodded. "Hmm, indeed it was."

I smiled sheepishly at him. "Oh, well, happy to help. Now, let's get going dear weasel." We walked side by side until we returned to our previous location.

Itachi set up a small fire pit and used a fire style jutsu to light it. He set up a few sticks so that we could easily roast our fish. He patted the ground next to himself. "Sit with me?" After I moved to sit next to him, he laid against my shoulder. We proceeded to eat just like that. Huddled up against one another in front of the soothing fire. Itachi managed to eat two whole fish for the first time all week.

I smiled to myself when I noticed this. _"Well that makes me feel better. At least his appetite is getting better." _I felt Itachi's head sliding closer to my chest. I smiled again. "Hey, getting sleepy on me?"

He yawned softly and nodded. "We are finally getting to our task tomorrow, so..." He yawned again and nuzzled into me. "I would like to get some sleep now." He sat up and away from me to put the fire out.

I set down the stick I was still holding and nodded. "Okay 'Tachi, we can go get some sleep." I stood up and led Itachi into the hollowed out tree from before. I laid down on the soft moss and yawned. "Boy, I didn't realized how damn tired I was." I let out a loud huff as Itachi collapsed on top of me. "Ouch, the fuck would possess you to do that?" I chuckled as I asked that and wrapped my arms around him.

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I laughed as I nuzzled into Hidan's chest. "Sorry, I'm just exhausted and I've been looking forward to this all afternoon." I felt him remove the ribbon from my hair. I couldn't help but let out a content sigh; he was running his rough, calloused hands across my head. He was using his fingernails to gently scratch and massage my scalp, and it felt incredible. "Wait, Hidan..."

Hidan continued to play with my hair. "Hmm?" His voice let on how exhausted he was. He yawned after a moment, never ceasing his movements across my scalp.

I let out my own yawn and started to blink my eyes. "I'm not ready to go to sleep yet. We have to start our mission tomorrow, which will come in the blink of an eye if we go to sleep now..." I was finding it harder and harder to keep my eyes open at the moment. "Hidan, you're making me..." I yawned against his chest and sighed. "...tired."

He turned on his side and cradled me against his chest. He nestled his face into my hair and sighed. "I know tomorrow will be here quickly, but..." He yawned. "The quicker we finish the mission, the quicker we can go back to the base and do absolutely nothing together."

His words made me smile. "Yes, doing absolutely nothing with you sounds pleasant."

Hidan nodded against me and tightened his grip around my waist. "Mmhmm, but for now...let's just go to sleep. I need my beauty rest. So I guess in this case, you don't have to sleep. You're too pretty as it is."

I laughed at his words and shook my head. "Hidan, I appreciate the compliment, but there's no way I'm staying up all night." I sat up to look him in the eyes, and realized he'd already fallen asleep. I smiled softly and placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. His expression was so peaceful; calming, even. "Huh." I said with a smile. "Maybe I will stay up all night."

* * *

A/N: They will be moving along with their mission in the next chapter, so we will be taking a more serious turn in the story.

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	7. Chapter 7

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

_Itachi. _

_Hey, Itachi. _

_**Itachi.**_

I jumped up and activated my Sharingan out of reflex. "W-What?"

Hidan let out a small sigh and smiled. "Hey now, no need to kill me. I was just trying to wake you up." He chuckled softly.

I immediately realized how tense I was, so I tried to relax my body. I kept the Sharingan activated; it was the day we would be reaching the Land of Iron, after all. I sighed and placed a hand on my face. "Of course... forgive me."

"Tsk." Hidan leaned closer and placed a gentle peck on my cheek. "I guess you must have been in a pretty deep sleep if I managed to startle you." He gave me another gentle kiss, but this time on the forehead. "I'm the one who should be sorry, so..." Another kiss to the forehead. "Sorry."

I smiled at him. "I'll accept your apology _after_ you kiss me as hard you can. We have to be completely professional after we leave this tree, and I don't think I can go a whole day with just forehead kisses." I raised a brow in challenge.

Hidan looked a little stunned at first, but was soon smirking like a mad man. "Don't have to tell me twice!" He tackled me to the ground and kissed me passionately. It didn't take long for the kiss to turn desperate and needy; it was as if this would be the last one we would ever share. His fingers were laced through my hair and he was gently pulling on it. Hidan reluctantly pulled away once the need for air became too great. He let out a husky sigh. "Will that get you through the day?"

I groaned at the loss of contact, but nodded in reply. "...I think it just might." I thought about it for a moment, and realized that _no,_ it would _not_ get me through the day. I sat up and threw my arms around his neck before locking our lips together in another heated kiss. I laced my fingers through his short, silver locks and pulled him closer. _"This is bad...I can't stop myself. Hidan is just so..." _I groaned again when Hidan pulled away. I put my forehead against his chest and sighed.

Hidan let out a raspy chuckle and stroked my face with his thumb. "So much for that one kiss getting you through the day." He placed a gentle kiss on the top of my head. "Somehow I thought it'd be _me_ who was the clingy, love-sick man. Not the other way around." He chuckled again.

I let out another sigh. "You're the first person I've been with since I left Konoha, so... I guess it's just made me realize how lonely I've been." I looked up at him and frowned. "One more?"

He giggled and kissed the tip of my nose. "You need help. You're addicted to me." He smirked at my pout and kissed my lips once more. "Okay, come on." Hidan stood up and held his hand out for me.

I put my hand in his and allowed him to help me up. "All right, we can go..."

Hidan smirked. "You don't sound very convincing, y'know."

I sighed as we exited the tree. "Yeah, I know."

* * *

As time passed on, we decided it best to travel through the trees rather than on the ground. It wouldn't be likely that the samurai of the Land of Iron would just welcome two members of the Akatsuki into their fortress. I knew we wouldn't have to be quiet until we were nearly at their front door, so Hidan was still chatting about anything he could think of, and telling me jokes that he _knew_ I would laugh at.

After an hour and a half of Hidan's rambling and joke telling, I couldn't take anymore. I sighed. "Hidan, stop talking."

Hidan was cut off mid-sentence, but he didn't object to my commanding tone. He followed behind me in complete silence.

I sighed to myself. _"I'm sorry Hidan, you're just too distracting..."_ I spent the next two hours re-training myself to become a cold-hearted killer. Much to my dismay, it took me that time alone to stop thinking about Hidan. As soon as the samurai fortress was visible, I stopped. I crouched down on one knee and scanned the area below. All three entrances to the fortress were heavily guarded. Each of the openings had seven samurai standing guard.

My eyes darted back and forth as I thought up a possible course of action. The guards weren't close enough to hear what was going on at the other entrances, but they could still _see_ each other. _"Hmm, seven guards to each station, twenty-one in total. There would be no need to take out all of them, since we only need to go in one entrance. If we could take them out silently while using my Sharingan to fool the other guards into believing their comrades are unharmed, then maybe—" _My eyes went wide as I stared in disbelief. "Hidan!"

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I rushed down the cliff side screaming threats and insults towards the samurai. Running at full speed, scythe in hand; I was completely prepared to take out the guards. I could already feel the adrenaline coursing through my veins as I approached the fortress. "Up and at 'em boys! It's time for some fun!"

I stood there waiting; waiting for my prey. I licked my lips in anticipation as I stared them down.

Three samurai ran towards me in a horizontal line; having everything but my back covered. They had their swords out and ready to go, charging me with all their might. They were crying out insults of their own, but none of them were as colorful as my own.

"Akatsuki scum!"

"You filthy criminal!"

"The Akatsuki have no honor!"

I chuckled menacingly as they grew closer and closer. "Honor? What about bravery? You bastards don't have the guts to dish out decent insults. That alone is enough to insult me."

The samurai on the left swung his sword horizontally, aiming for my left side. The samurai on the right mirrored his movement in an attempt to get me from the right side. The third samurai slashed his sword in a downward motion; probably trying to wreck my gorgeous face.

I drew my scythe back in my right hand before swinging it horizontally to the left. The swords of the right and center samurai got caught in the blades of my scythe; causing them to fly to the ground. I continued my horizontal sweep to the left and took out the third samurai. He was left forgotten and buried in the snow. "Alright! Who's next?!"

Another samurai came down from the guard post and they resumed their three-line formation. The guard on the right broke formation and charged straight towards me. The other two stayed behind; ready to back their comrade's attack.

I swung my scythe across to the right this time and managed to take out the samurai. Only, I realized that the other two started to charge me while the scythe was still stuck on the first guard. "Shit!" The guard was stuck on my scythe. Ignoring the idiot stuck on my scythe, I continued my swipe to the right and followed my blade; turning a full 360 just in time to knock the other guards over with the body of the first one.

I let out another menacing chuckle before charging towards them. I swung my scythe at them as hard and as frantically as I could. "Hell yeah! Feast your eyes boys: your armor is no match for my scythe—!" I was suddenly tackled to the ground from behind. _"Ah shit! I forgot about the other three!" _ I was laying face first in the snow, wriggling around like a pathetic and over-sized worm. _"Shit, shit, shit! I have __**six**__ samurai to worry about!" _

I could feel some of them holding me down while the other ones tried to pry the scythe from my hands. I'd get a big mouthful of snow every time I'd attempt to curse at them, and I was become extremely cold. They'd just managed to get the scythe from my hands when I heard one of them scream. Followed by another, and another... _"What the hell just happened? Huh, oh hey, I can move again!" _When I stood up, all six of the samurai were passed out on the ground. But it's what was in front of me that scared me the most.

Itachi was glaring at me with such intensity I thought he might actually _kill_ me. He let out a heavy sigh. "Hidan, what the _hell_ were you thinking? If you had been here alone you would have gotten yourself _killed._" He crossed his arms over his chest. "You didn't even tell me what you were planning to do. Which, by the way, was completely unnecessary. This is a _retrieval_ mission. There was no need for you to attack the guards like that. It was loud, foolish, and completely reckless. Not to mention—" He furrowed his brows and stopped talking. "What?"

I scratched the side of my face. "Sorry, it's just, you're kind of hot when you get all worked up worrying about me." I couldn't hold back a smirk as Itachi's eyes visibly twitched. I chuckled and put my hands up in surrender. "Okay, okay. Uhm, thanks for saving me. So, what were _you _planning?"

Itachi sighed again. "Never mind that for now, let's just go inside and retrieve the documents already." He turned around and led the way inside the samurai fortress. He silently maneuvered his way through the many corridors of the fortress. Just as he was about to round the corner he stopped dead in his tracks and motioned for me to do so as well. He looked over at me. "Hidan, I need you to bang your scythe against the wall. There is only one guard within hearing distance, and I need him to run over here. I'm going to knock him out with a genjutsu that will activate the moment he sees us."

My eyes lit up; that was actually really smart, and sounded like fun. I happily took my scythe and smashed it into the wall. I watched in awe as the lone samurai ran towards us to investigate and immediately pass out from Itachi's genjutsu. I did make sure to catch him before his armor made a loud clunking noise against the stone floor though. "Sweet, what do we do now? Oh! Maybe I could put on this samurai gear, and take my scythe along as evidence that we took down an Akatsuki member. Meanwhile you conceal yourself and retrieve the documents. 'Cause they gotta be pretty important which means we should find 'em with the boss."

Itachi looked a little stunned. "Well...yes, I think that will work. I'll be able to put whoever is in charge to sleep with a genjutsu while you're talking to them." He turned his head to look in the hallway. "I'll keep watch while you get changed."

I felt proud in that moment; Kakuzu never praised me. Not even as subtly as Itachi just did. I removed my Akatsuki cloak and sealed it away in one of my scrolls. I changed into the samurai's uniform and grunted in discomfort. "Damn, this is too fucking heavy."

Itachi looked over at me and rolled his eyes. "It's armor, Hidan. What did you expect?"

I pouted, not that he could see it though. I did have a helmet on, after all. "Yeah, yeah. Are you able to hide yourself from the samurai without hiding yourself from me?"

Itachi almost looked annoyed by that question, but didn't voice any objections. "Yes, I can do that. It's best we go now, we've wasted enough time talking, and I already have a genjutsu cast outside."

I nodded. "Okay, lead the way!"

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

It took us a good twenty minutes to reach the leader's room. Multiple guards had stopped Hidan to 'congratulate' him on taking down an Akatsuki member. Luckily it didn't matter that Hidan asked how to get to the leader's room, for they had just switched his office over the day before. So not all of the samurai knew its new location.

Hidan burst into the leader's office and happily threw his scythe on the desk. "Yo! Check it out man, I took down one of the Akatsuki!"

I rolled my eyes and elbowed him. I shook my head at him and glared, hoping he'd realize what I meant.

Hidan suddenly stood up straight, and put his legs and arms close together. "I mean..." He bowed. "Sir, Mifune. I have successfully taken down the Akatsuki member known as Hidan. He was outside trying to break in. He was completely alone and causing quite a riot Not only was it foolish of him, it was completely reckless. He was no match for my unit, sir. He is being delt with as we speak."

Mifune went from being annoyed to looking genuinely pleased. "Well, that is excellent work indeed. But surely you've taken precautions to make sure his partner has been taken care of as well?"

Hidan shook his head. "No sir, that's the other reason it was so reckless of him. He charged down the mountain alone. We scouted the area and were unable to locate anyone else. It seems he wasn't one of the more intelligent ones."

Mifune stood up and stretched his hand outwards. "Well done my young samurai." After shaking Hidan's hand, he reached behind his desk and pulled out several documents. "These are documents pertaining to the Akatsuki and all of the information we have on them. I've organized them according to hidden village. I would like you and your unit to deliver these to _each_ of the corresponding Kage."

I blinked in disbelief. _"Those... Those are the documents Pein sent us to retrieve." _

Hidan carefully took the documents and bowed again. "Understood sir, I will get my team together and we will set out right away." Hidan started to leave, but then turned around. "Uh, sir?"

Mifune raised a brow. "Yes? What is it?"

"Well you see, there is a girl in a village not too far from here that I've had my eye on...and well, do you think I could take the scythe as a souvenir to show her? I think it would really seal the deal if she knew my comrades and I were strong enough to defeat an Akatsuki member."

Mifune chuckled heartily. "You may take it with you, yes."

Hidan bowed once more. "Thank you, sir!" He picked his scythe back up and exited the room. He led the way back through the many corridors of the fortress. He ran into several samurai who were asking about his reason for keeping the scythe. Many of them were cheering him on and wishing him luck with the girl. He led the way out of the fortress and back into the forest. He kept the samurai disguise on until we reached the hollowed out tree from before. He threw his scythe down on the ground and chuckled. "Man, I can't believe how easy that was! He just _gave_ us the documents!"

I smiled at this cheerfulness for a moment. But I was too exhausted to say anything. I was forced to deactivate my Sharingan; I had used too much of my chakra with all of my genjutsu. "H-Hidan..." I started to fall forwards; I was just too worn out to stop myself.

"Whoa, hey!" Hidan caught me and cradled me against his armored chest. "You look exhausted..." Even behind the samurai mask, I could hear how worried his voice was.

I sighed and leaned into him. "...I used too much chakra. Those genjutsu took a lot out of me, I had too many going at once. It also uses more chakra to conceal myself from certain people while allowing others to see me..."

Hidan held me closer. "Ah, I'm sorry, Itachi. I made you push yourself harder than you needed to. I'll make it up to you with a kiss." He leaned down towards me in an attempt to kiss me.

"Ouch, Hidan!" I rubbed my nose and laughed softly. "You're still wearing the samurai armor."

"Oh, oops." He carefully set me down against the tree trunk and immediately removed the helmet. "Okay, let's try that again." He crawled over top of me and pressed his lips into mine; also pressing gentle kisses all over my face.

I smiled and laughed again. "That's much better, thank you." I sneezed suddenly as a chill ran down my spine. "H-Hidan...Can you change back into your own clothes? I'm cold and I want to go to sleep."

He smiled softly and placed a gentle kiss on my temple. He moved to the other side of the tree and changed back into his own clothes. He crawled back over to me and pulled me against his chest. He tucked me into his Akatsuki cloak and wrapped his arms around me. "Let's get some rest, 'kay?"

I nestled into the crook of his neck and sighed contently. "Okay."

* * *

A/N: Okay, here is the next chapter. I tried to make the fighting as detailed as possible, but fight scenes aren't the easiest things to write.

The story will be wrapped up in another chapter or so.


	8. Chapter 8

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I woke up early the next morning. _Way_ too early. I peeked outside of the tree and groaned; the sun was just _barely_ on the horizon. Itachi was still out cold against my chest, and showed no signs of waking up. I laid there silently for a while, simply enjoying the sound of Itachi's breathing, when something dawned on me; I screwed up when we left the samurai fortress. "Ah shit, shit, shit!"

Itachi began to stir and he pressed further into my chest. "Nngh, Hidan... it's too early for you to be so loud."

I rolled him off of me and sat up. "Itachi, I fucked up yesterday! _Big time_!"

He sighed and slowly sat up. "What are you talking about?" He rubbed his eyes and sighed again.

"I'm such an idiot! What the hell happens in two or three weeks when Mifune starts asking around about the documents being delivered to the Kage? His samurai aren't going to know what he's talking about because they were never _told_ about the delivery!" I laced my fingers through my hair and started to pull on it in frustration. "This is why I'm not the brains of _any_ mission! I'm so stupid!"

Itachi blinked and looked highly unfazed by my statement. "I took care of that problem before we left, Hidan." He yawned softly and rubbed his eyes again. "While you were busy bragging to people about how that scythe was going to win over the heart of some girl in some village, I cast a genjutsu over myself and appeared as a samurai. I had four blank scrolls on my person at the time, so I handed them to four different samurai. I told each of them to get teams together and to which villages the scrolls belonged. I told them it was a direct order from Mifune and that no one was permitted to look inside of the scrolls. Each of the scrolls have genjutsu sealed within them. So when the Kage open their scrolls, they will see information about the Akatsuki. Only, it will be locations to old hideouts within the corresponding countries. As well as basic information about each of us."

I just stared at him completely dumbfounded. "Well _damn_ Itachi! You could have let me in on this little secret of yours before I freaked out on you!" I huffed at him and sighed. "...I don't know why I just snapped at you. It's not like it's your fault..."

Itachi waved his hand at me in dismissal. "I don't really care if you snap at me or not, my head is already pounding."

Concern washed over me at his words. I took a closer look at him. _"Damn."_ He looked awful. Heavy bags under his eyes, his eyes themselves were pretty bloodshot, they also looked a little cloudy. He just didn't look like he was _all there._ "Itachi?" I waited until he looked like he was paying attention before continuing. "Uh... how much pain are you in right now because you had to fix my mess?"

He sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm in quite a bit of pain from doing what was necessary to complete the mission. I wasn't _fixing_ anything. I was simply playing the cards I was dealt."

I chuckled softly and pecked him lightly. I pulled away with an amused grin on my face. "Not feeling it this early in the morning?"

Itachi just blinked at me. "I guess I should clarify what 'quite a bit of pain' feels like." He took a deep breath and let it out in a slow sigh. "I feel like my skull is about to shatter, my eyes are so dry that my eyelids are starting to scratch them, and I feel like I could throw up everything that's currently in my system ten times over." He eyed my chest the entire time he was speaking. "So, _no,_ I am _not_ feeling it this morning. I just want to go to sleep; go to sleep and not wake up for a couple of days."

Half-way between sympathy and amusement; I smiled at him. "Ah well doesn't _that_ just fucking suck!"

Itachi just blinked for a moment before his mouth started to twitch into a smile. It was such a small smile at first, but slowly, so _damn_ slowly; his smile grew and grew until he allowed himself to laugh softly. "Nngh..." He suddenly closed his eyes and clutched at his stomach. "Okay, laughing just makes it worse. Can I go back to sleep?"

I rolled my eyes and pecked his cheek. "Yes. But you gotta ride on my back. I'm gonna seal all of our stuff away in the scrolls we have left. I'm even going to seal away my scythe. Just so I can carry you, and you alone. You're gonna sleep until we get back to the base, and then wake up just long enough to report back to Pein, show off to the rest of the guys that I'm now your hot-as-hell boyfriend, and crawl into bed with me to take a very nice nap." I raised my brows in amusement.

He appeared to be holding back laughter, or maybe, vomit? It looked like it could be either. I was really hoping it was the former...

No such luck.

Itachi's face scrunched up in pain before he bolted out of the tree a second later. It didn't appear he got very far before he gave into his nausea. He was coughing violently just outside the tree. And he sounded so Jashin-damned awful.

Without really thinking it over, I quickly ran after Itachi. I came up behind him to keep his hair from getting fucked up from bloody vomit. My heart sank at the sight in front of me. _"He's suffering so much. Because his Sharingan adds to the horrible illness and comes with its own side-effects." _I managed to keep all of his hair in one hand while using the other to rub small circles on his back. _"This is the only thing I can do to comfort him. And from past experience... having your back rubbed while puking your damn brains out isn't exactly comforting." _

Itachi stopped long enough to take in a sharp breath before his body decided it wasn't done ridding itself of blood. He appeared to be over the worst of it, and collapsed against me. His breathing was far from normal—he looked like he was getting his lungs stabbed every time he breathed in. He turned around and pressed his face into my chest. He let out a shaky breath against my skin. "I..."

I wrapped my arms around him in a tight, but gentle embrace. "Shut it and get some sleep, 'kay?" I pressed my face into his hair. "...I hate seeing you fucking suffer like this." I slowly tightened my grip on him as I spoke.

Itachi coughed against my chest and nodded slowly. "...I don't wish to be a burden, but..." He sighed and pressed further into me.

I frowned into his hair. "You're not a burden, Itachi. Don't worry about that, just go ahead and say or ask whatever's on your mind."

He let out another pitiful cough. "Could you...carry me in your arms for a while? Hearing your heart beat calms my nerves and relaxes me..." He paused to take in another sharp breath. "...just for a while, then if it gets to be too much, you can just put me on your back..."

Now I smiled against him and nodded into his hair. "Of course I'll carry you in my arms. You fit perfectly against my chest. I couldn't imagine you anywhere else." I carefully removed him from my lap; for just a second of course—I needed to seal away our things. I reached over for my Akatsuki cloak and was about to put it on, when Itachi suddenly snatched it out of my hands. I raised a brow in question. "Hey, what're you doing?"

* * *

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I quickly grabbed Hidan's cloak and set it beside me. I removed my own cloak and threw it to Hidan. "Seal that with the rest of my things; I want to wear yours."

Hidan blinked in surprise, then he furrowed his brows. "Okay, sure... but why?"

I was quiet for a moment, which resulted in me chewing on my bottom lip. "It's bigger than mine... and it's warmer, and..." I looked away from him for a moment. "...its yours."

He chuckled softly and placed a kiss on my temple. "That's so damn adorable. The great Itachi Uchiha is blushing because he wants to wear another man's cloak. Simply because he _likes_ him."

My eye twitched at his teasing. "Wearing what's yours will also keep me calm and relaxed Hidan. Because I _trust _you. I feel _safe_ with you. For Heaven's sake, Hidan..." I huffed at him. "_Kisame _lets me wear _his_ cloak when I'm feeling anxious. Which happens after I have an attack from my illness. I don't _need _it. I can function just fine without it, but it's _nice_ to let someone calm me down instead of doing it myself for a change."

Hidan no longer looked like he was in a teasing mood. "Well, don't I feel like a jackass..." He turned me around and pulled me as close to his chest as he possibly could. "Sorry, 'Tachi." He gently placed his chin upon my left shoulder and tightened his grip on my waist. "I guess I really don't know when to shut my mouth." He sat up and kissed my cheek. "You can wear my cloak, 'kay?"

I smiled softly and nodded. "Okay." I removed myself from Hidan's embrace and slipped into his cloak. Not bothering to button it up, I slowly rose to my feet and extended my hand towards Hidan. "I'm ready to go if you are."

He grabbed my hand and stood up quickly. He gave me his usual smile and wasted no time in scooping me up in his arms. He placed a big kiss square between my eyes. "Okay!" He was already back to his normal, over-energetic self.

I yelped as he lifted me, and then let out a soft laugh. The kiss between my eyes caused me to remember the horrible headache I had. "H-Hey..." I made a face at him and kissed his lips softly. "You may kiss my face anywhere _except_ between my eyes..."

"Tch, okay, fine. Whatever you want 'Tachi." He pecked my lips and smiled at me. "Well, let's get goin' then."

* * *

The next couple of days had been extremely nice. Hidan refused to let me walk, even when we were in public. I was either in his arms cradled against his chest, or riding on his back with my face nuzzled into his neck. The side-effects of my illness and overuse of my Sharingan seemed to die down as each day progressed. Even knowing this, however; Hidan still refused to put me down. Although I would have been fine walking, I suppose it helped speed up my recovery time.

It was evening now, and I knew it would only take us another hour or two to reach the base, but I wasn't quite ready to sit down and talk to everyone. I wanted to be selfish for once in my life and do something for myself. I was fortunate enough to spot a nearby cave, and I knew it would make perfect cover for the night. I pulled on Hidan's headband and looked up at him. "Hey, Hida?"

He stopped walking and looked down at me. "Yeah, what's up?"

I gave him a hopeful look. "Do you think we could stop and make camp in that cave over there? Just for tonight, anyway..."

Hidan raised a brow. "Well, yeah, sure. But, y'know we're only an hour or two from the base, right?"

I nodded. "Yes. I just want one more night to ourselves. Without the rest of the Akatsuki around to bother us. It's nice when it's just the two of us. This may be extremely selfish of me to ask, but I really would like one more night alone with you..." I dropped my gaze and sighed.

He carefully set me down and gripped my chin. "Hey, it's not selfish of you. I completely understand and agree with you, so don't worry about it. Okay?" He pecked my temple lightly. "Come on, let's go." He scooped me back up and darted off towards the cave. Once we were inside, Hidan gently placed me back down. "So, are we gonna go straight to sleep or—"

I cut Hidan's question short by jumping him and pinning him to the ground. I kissed him desperately as I held onto his face. I couldn't get enough of Hidan, and wasn't sure how much longer I'd be able to do this with him. After all, we could end up with separate missions as soon as we return to base. _"Oh yes, I'm using the entire night to kiss this man."_ I groaned against Hidan's lips and reluctantly pulled away; the need for oxygen became too great. I sat there straddling his lap with my hands on his bare chest; staring at him through half-lidded eyes.

Hidan blinked a few times and let out a shaky breath as he looked up at me. He opened his mouth to speak but closed it again. He appeared to be at a loss for words, and so he continued to look at me. "You," He carefully sat up and pressed our foreheads together. "are full of surprises, aren't you?"

I wrapped my arms around his neck and nodded slowly. "You have no idea."

He put his hands on my hips and kissed me gently. "Luckily for you, I enjoy surprises."

I smirked against his lips. "Do you? Well then..." I pulled back just enough so that we could look at each other. "Perhaps you would be happy to hear that I don't intend to sleep anytime soon." Keeping my arms wrapped loosely around his neck, I let a sly smile form on my lips. "And that I would prefer to use our lips for something other than talking."

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I raised a brow in amusement and smiled. "Oh I see." I carefully moved backwards so that I could lean against the cave wall. I kept Itachi on my lap while moving and chuckled at the questioning look he gave me. "Okay, this should be a little better, don't you think?"

Itachi smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm." He leaned in and pecked my lips. "Much better."

I couldn't help but chuckle again. "You're probably gonna hate me for saying this, but, you are so damn cute."

He made a face similar to a pout. "Hidan..."

I smirked before gently kneading my fingers into his hips. "How about you kiss me now instead of talking like you suggested, hmm?"

Itachi's face tinted red for a moment before he leaned in and complied to my request. He pressed his lips against mine gently at first, but it soon turned into a desperate, needy kiss. He laced his fingers through my hair and grabbed it tightly. He pulled on my hair a little tighter as he tried to deepen the kiss.

I groaned softly and had to bring my hands up to cup his face. We continued to hold on to each other and kiss passionately for several minutes. I let out a low growl when Itachi pulled on my hair a little tighter than he probably meant to. I gently pushed him away just enough so that I could look at his face. I laid my head back against the wall and sighed contently. "Damn, Uchiha..."

He let out his own content sigh and pressed his forehead against my collarbone. "Forgive me, I didn't mean to pull on your hair that hard..." He murmured the words against my skin; he sounded lazy and a little out of it.

I wrapped my arms around his body and cupped the back of his head. "Heh, you don't ever have to apologize for causing me physical pain, 'Tachi." I kissed the top of his head and smiled. "I'm often referred to as a masochist, y'know."

Itachi relaxed against me and shifted into a more comfortable position. "That may be so, but..." He yawned softly. "...I am no sadist."

"Well that's a good thing, actually." I held him tighter against my chest and chuckled. "I'd hate for you to try and kill me. I bet you'd be the _one_ person who could _actually_ find a way to do it."

He laughed softly. "While that's probably true, I have no intention of finding out." He nuzzled into me and yawned again. "I think I'm ready for bed now."

"Hmm, ready for bed, you say?" I pondered that for a moment and smiled. "Well, that's not possible right now. We don't have a bed. We're in a cave." I laughed when he sat up to give me a disapproving look. "What you _should_ have said, was; 'I think I'm ready to sleep now'." As soon as I saw his lips threatening to form a frown, I gave him a gentle kiss. "Nope, no pouting for you mister."

Itachi looked like he was trying to hide his smile, but he failed miserably. "Okay fine. I'm ready to go to _sleep_ now. But you cannot possibly be comfortable up against the wall like that." He removed himself from my lap and yawned again. "You should be able to use some of our pouches to make a pillow for yourself. And I suppose I'll let you have your cloak back now, and just unseal mine."

I couldn't help but smirk at him. "You're worried I'll be uncomfortable and cold. That is so adorable." I kissed his cheek softly. "Thanks, 'Tachi." I quickly took my cloak off of Itachi and put it back on myself. I retrieved the scroll containing all of our junk and unsealed his cloak. "Here ya go." I carefully put Itachi into his cloak. Not because he _needed_ help getting dressed. I just find an embarrassed Itachi adorable as fuck.

And embarrassed he was; Itachi's face was as red as a tomato. "H-Hidan! I'm not a child, I don't need help getting—" He was interrupted by a gentle kiss. "—dressed." He sighed and shook his head. "Honestly..."

I allowed myself a victorious giggle. "Alright, I'm sorry. I'll stop my teasing and make a pillow now." I carefully re-positioned the items in our pouches and arranged them into a semi-comfortable pillow. "This is gonna end up more damn painful than if I were to lay on the fucking ground." After receiving a 'you won't know until you try' look from Itachi, I laid down against the pouches. I shifted around a bit until I found a comfortable position. "Hmm, guess it'll do."

Itachi nodded. "Good." He collapsed on top of me with a content sigh. It didn't take him very long to get comfortable on top of my chest. "Look on the bright side, Hidan: _I _won't have to worry about _my_ pillow being uncomfortable." His voice was completely laced with amusement.

I wrapped my arms around him in a protective sort of embrace. "Oh shut the hell up, 'Tachi. We'll see how smug you are tomorrow when we get back to the base and I throw you up against a wall and kiss you 'til you're about to pass out." Itachi didn't seem to hear me, and if he did, he was ignoring me. "Itachi?" All I got in reply was a quiet 'Hn?'. I rubbed up and down his back a few times and smiled into his hair. "Did you hear what I said?"

He let out a content sort of purring noise and nuzzled into my chest. His breathing was evening out and he yawned softly. "Hidan...be quiet...sleep...ing." He mumbled the words against my skin and let out another soft yawn.

I chuckled softly. "Of course you didn't hear me. You're already asleep."

* * *

A/N: So very sorry for the late update. I have been extremely busy lately.

There will only be one more chapter, and it will more than likely be shorter than they normally are.

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan and Itachi Uchiha © Masashi Kishimoto


	9. Chapter 9

_~Itachi's Point of View~_

* * *

I awoke feeling very warm and just as comfortable. I tightened my grip on whatever was keeping me so warm. I didn't want it to just vanish after all. I nuzzled into it and sighed contently. I was becoming more aware with each passing second that I was moving. "Hmm?" I slowly opened my eyes to find I was being carried by Hidan again.

He looked back at me for a moment. "Ah, you're awake, huh?"

I nodded against his shoulder and yawned. "Hn." I wanted nothing more than to go back to sleep, but I knew we'd be arriving at the base any minute now. "Hida..." Another yawn interrupted me before I could finish what I was trying to say. I sighed and closed my eyes again, too lazy to figure out what I had been about to ask.

Hidan stopped walking and looked back at me. "You want down now?" After receiving another nod, he carefully set me down. "You look so tired." He chuckled softly as he spoke.

I yawned again and sighed. "I can't tell if I got too much sleep or not enough..." The sun wasn't very high yet, so I could only guess it was before ten. "I don't trust myself to walk just yet, so you're going to have to be my eyes." I slipped my arms around Hidan's left one. "If you don't mind, that is."

He smiled and kissed my temple. "Nah, I don't mind." He led the way back to the Akatsuki base, which only took about ten more minutes to reach. "Alrighty! Time to go in and report to Pein!" Hidan practically drug me the rest of the way through the base. He tugged on my arm and hurried through the kitchen, through the lounge, and up the stairs to the meeting room. He looked at me once we stopped in the middle of the room. "Okay, guess we gotta contact Pein now."

I stared at him for a moment before nodding in agreement. "Right." The two of us activated the jutsu that would allow us to talk with Pein while being in two different locations.

Pein appeared as a semi-transparent figure in a black-rainbow gradient. "Ah, so you've returned. Did you recover the scrolls?"

I looked at him and nodded. "Yes. Hidan disguised himself as a samurai and got them from Mifune. It appears he'd planned on sending them to the Hokage, Kazekage, Tsuchikage, and Mizukage. All of them would have had access to vital information about each of the members from their homelands. I'm not certain how they collected that much information about all of us, but it does not appear Mifune made copies for himself. I sent fake scrolls off to the Kage who will only see old information about us. With any luck, Mifune won't find out that the real scrolls never reached their destinations."

Pein nodded. "I see, that is excellent work. I'll send Zetsu to retrieve the scrolls then. He'll also be giving you a slip that has to go directly to Kakuzu. You're both going to get a small payment for your trouble." He paused for a moment to make sure we understood. "Do either of you have anything else you would like to discuss while we're here?"

Hidan immediately spoke up. "Yeah! Look, it didn't go quite as smoothly as 'Tachi explained. See, I didn't give him a chance to tell me he was going to work on an easy plan with no fighting involved. I went charging in after the samurai and got myself in quite a pinch. Itachi had to overuse his Sharingan to cover up my mess, including the scrolls he gave to the samurai teams. He's hard pressed on saying he didn't fix anything, that he was just doing what was necessary, but that's not true. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't have gotten those scrolls _and _left everyone alive. There would have been a lot of dead bodies piled up in the Land of Iron had he not stepped in and saved the day. That being said, I think you should give him some time off. He worked his ass off because of me, and I know I'm a damned idiot who doesn't use his brain enough."

Pein and I were both staring at Hidan completely dumbfounded. After concluding that Hidan was done talking, Pein nodded. "Well, if this is true Itachi, then he's right; you should get some time off. The threat of precious information being leaked is no longer present, so you should all take this time and relax. Just give Zetsu the scrolls and see Kakuzu for your payment. I will contact all of you when I have new missions available." That was the last thing he said before vanishing.

Zetsu didn't give me any time to question Hidan, for he appeared as soon as Pein left. **"Itachi, Hidan, we'll take the scrolls now." **"Yes, you can't get paid until we have the scrolls."

Hidan reached into his pouches. "Yeah, yeah shut the fuck up oreo." He took the scrolls out and threw them to Zetsu.

The white side of Zetsu was obviously offended by Hidan's comment. "Hey now, Hidan! You're always so rude." Black Zetsu sighed. **"Never mind his foul mouth, just give him the payment slip so we can leave."** White Zetsu frowned and slowly handed the slip over to Hidan. "Well, bye-bye then." Zetsu sunk down through the floor and was gone as quickly as he had appeared.

Hidan smiled. "Hell yeah! Kakuzu is gonna be so fuckin' pissed when he sees how much he has to pay me!" Not even noticing my dazed expression, he ran right past me and bolted downstairs.

I blinked and shook my head before slowly following after him. _"Honestly..."_ By the time I reached the kitchen where the rest of the Akatsuki were, Hidan was yelling at Kakuzu about the money. "Hidan, how about you _ask_ him to give you the money, instead of _demanding_ it. Half of that _is_ mine after all."

Hidan blinked and scratched the side of his face. "Oh right..." He smiled sheepishly. "Sorry, 'Tachi." He turned to Kakuzu. "Okay, could you _please_ give _us_ the fucking money?"

Kakuzu shook his head and sighed. He got up from his spot at the table and left for a moment. He returned with two stacks of money and handed one to me. The other one, well... he threw that at Hidan. "Kid." This comment was directed at me. "You must have more patience than I do, because I don't know how you could keep your sanity after being with Hidan for _any_ amount of time."

I couldn't keep a small smile from forming on my lips as I put my money away. "He wasn't that bad, really. I didn't mind working with him in the slightest." Before anyone could comment on that, I was slammed up against the kitchen wall. My eyes went wide when I realized what was about to happen. "Hidan—!" Too late. Hidan had pressed into me and started kissing me roughly. Pushing aside the fact that there were people watching, I began to respond to the kiss. I whimpered softly when Hidan bit my lower lip. I felt like melting from his kiss and combusting from embarrassment at the same time. I could definitely feel everyone staring at us _now_. I looked at him in disbelief as soon as he pulled away. All I could do was stare at him with wide eyes. I was completely speechless.

* * *

_~Hidan's Point of View~_

* * *

I smirked at Itachi and his shocked expression. "See, what I tell ya? Not so smug after I did that, are you, 'Tachi?"

He gulped and blinked a few times, apparently still too shocked to say anything. He took a deep breath and let it out as a shaky sigh. "Hidan..." He collected himself and regained his composure. "I thought I told you no more biting?" He raised a single brow in question.

"Huh?" It took me a moment to register what he'd just said, and then I couldn't help but smile. The fact that the other Akatsuki members were sitting around the table didn't bother me. I had pretty much forgotten about all of them the moment Itachi cracked a playful smile of his own. "Don't you get it already?" I placed a gentle kiss on his forehead. "I" Another to his left cheek. "don't" A kiss to his right cheek. "listen" A gentle kiss to the tip of his nose. "very" I pecked his lips gently. "well."

Itachi smiled shyly at me, and not just with his mouth; his eyes reflected his happiness as well. He let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head. He continued to stare at me for a moment before chuckling softly. "Yes, I suppose I should have realized that by now."

"How 'bout we go get that nap now?" I waited until he nodded before gently taking a hold of his hand. I led Itachi passed the rest of the guys and completely ignored them. I didn't care what they thought, and I knew Itachi didn't either. Neither of us cared if our relationship was one big cliché; you take what you can get when you're considered the 'bad guys'. We'll create our own little piece of heaven right here together; fuck the rest of the world.

* * *

A/N: The End.

I'm not _entirely_ happy with the ending, but I was starting to lose interest in the story, and just finding it difficult to finish it. Otherwise, it probably would have been a lot longer than this. And it seemed _too_ long, so I erased a lot and finished it like this.

Thank you all for reading and reviewing the story! Until the next fan fiction~

Story © Kaylin Street-Johnson

Hidan, Itachi Uchiha, Pein, Zetsu, and Kakuzu © Masashi Kishimoto


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